Savages of War
by ghostFACERS95
Summary: *I know bad title and summary, I'm sorry!* *This story will also be on wattpad (LaurelMeyers) if you want to read it on there, there's pictures and stuff there* Nakoma only came to Kyoto to protect her two charges, Ayana and Chizuru Yukimura. She never expected the mess she would be thrown into. This is a Shin/OC story and a potential Heisuke/OC story.
1. Snowflake Capital Pt 1

**Important things to note about this story:**

 ***I know this plotline is not very plausible for 1864 Japan, but the idea would not leave my head and I decided that because the writers of the show, movies, games, etc.** ** _obviously_** **took some liberties that I could take some as well.**

 ***That being said, I will try my best to have factual information in this. If you catch something that isn't factual, I wouldn't mind it being pointed out to me, but if it's something that already knew was wrong and changed on purpose I will let you know. Any facts I use, if you would like to see the links of where I got this information for whatever reason you may want them, I'd be happy to provide them for you. (:**

 ***Even though I am an anthropologist, Japan is not my main study, I apologize now for any mistakes in culture, language, etc. and I would be happy to fix it if you let me know!**

 ***A lot of the info I'm getting for the main plotline is from reading other people's stories, I apologize profusely now if I accidentally write something that was not from the franchise plotline and is something original to the author. If you find something like this I would be happy to fix it or give credit where credit is due. Thank you!**

 **Important info for this chapter:**

 ***All of Nakoma's weapons mentioned are weapons used by Native Americans,** ** _however_** **the weapon mentioned that is called a macahuitl, the way I describe it is not how it actually looks.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

Part 1

December 1863

The three young woman ran through the dark of the night. Nakoma ran behind the Yukimaru sisters as she urged them to run faster from the Ronin that were chasing them. She considered fighting them off while Ayana and Chizuru ran away, but she feared there may be others hiding in the shadows.

"Into that alley!" Nakoma called out to them and they both nodded before turning sharply, Nakoma not far behind. She ushered them to hide under a wooden plank hidden behind some barrels. "Do not move and do not make any noise." She said and stared pointedly at Chizuru who was the more squeamish of the two to say the least.

"Those rats are fast!" Nakoma heard one of the Ronin puff out. She figured if they had any sort of knowledge they would have followed their footprints. She silently drew her dagger out of its place on her belt, the obsidian blade shined black in the moonlight as she gripped the handle, carved with the symbols of her people, tightly.

"There's one, I bet the others aren't far behind!" She heard one of the Ronin call out, he was not too far in front of her now. She silently prayed to the spirits for guidance before opening her eyes.

"It is quite dishonorable to chase after children in the dark." She said calmly and the Ronin glared at her.

"Dishonorable?! I am a patriot of Kyoto! I protect these people; you better show some respect!" The man growled out and Nakoma refrained from laughing.

"I have not been in this place for long, but somehow I highly doubt that." She said, not a muscle on her face twitching as she stared the man down. "Now please, desist in your chasing of my charges and I will let you go."

The other two Ronin had caught up to their companion by now and they all stared at her for a moment before they began to laugh rather loudly.

"A woman? Against the three of us?!" They continued to laugh loudly and Nakoma remained where she was, unmoving and patiently waiting for them to finish. She wished she could bash their heads in at that very moment but she did not know who they were and did not want to create more trouble for her and the girls if it could be avoided.

Suddenly a blur of blue behind the Ronin flashed past. Nakoma took a step back in surprise, but quickly positioned herself in a fighting stance as one of the Ronin screamed in pain, a katana sticking out of his chest. It quickly disappeared and he fell to the ground dead.

The other two quieted down and began to look around them as Nakoma quickly exchanged her dagger for her macahuitl. Shrill, high-pitched laughter began to echo in the alley and Nakoma narrowed her eyes as she tried to find the source.

Suddenly two samurai appeared behind the two Ronin, but something was different, wrong, about them. They had snow white hair and a crazed emotion on their faces as their glowing eyes stared at the two Ronin in hunger. Nakoma watched as the two Ronin were taken down with ease, any injury the samurai sustained seemed to have no effect on them. They continued to laugh in glee as they began to stab the bodies of the Ronin over and over again. She looked on in shock as one licked the blood on his hand, but suddenly he stopped and turned to look at her. She glared as the manic samurai slowly stood, his smile widening.

"Blood, I want more blood!" He cried out before charging at her. She gripped her macahuitl tighter as the samurai raised his sword. As soon as he was close enough, she dropped to the ground and kicked out her leg, knocking the samurai down to the ground. Nakoma stabbed him in the heart and then quickly in the head just to be sure.

She heard the other move behind her so she left her sword in the dead samurai as she quickly stood and pulled out her tomahawk. She did not need more than a second to aim as she threw hard and let out a puff of air as she watched it whistle through the air. Just as she threw her tomahawk, a katana suddenly appeared in the samurai's chest and her eyes widen slightly as the man behind the crazed samurai jerked to the right.

There was complete silence besides the loud thunk of her tomahawk landing in the wood of the wall behind him and the now dead samurai sliding off the man's katana. The two stared at each momentarily, each surprised by the appearance of the other, but Nakoma was quick to notice the Hori that the man was wearing was the same as the dead samurai's that now lay before them.

Nakoma quickly grabbed her sword from the samurai's head and prepared herself for another fight, glaring at the man in front of her.

"Nakoma-san!" She heard Chizuru cry out and she glanced behind her to see Ayana and Chizuru were now standing behind her.

"What did I tell you two?!" She growled out to them and they both blushed slightly as they huddled together.

"You were fast this time Saito-kun." Nakoma heard and she turned her attention back to the mysterious man as another man came out from the shadows and started to inspect her tomahawk embedded in the wood.

"I only did as my duty required." The first man said quietly as he flicked the blood off his sword and replaced it in the sheath at his waist. The second man smirked and turned to face Saito. He glanced at Nakoma and she remained as she was, emotionless and still. She was not sure how to treat these newcomers, but she would not let harm come to the girls.

"Nakoma!" She heard Ayana cry out and suddenly she felt a presence next to her. Nakoma glanced over to see yet another man in a blue haori holding his katana towards her neck.

"Listen," he began calmly. "Don't try to escape, if any of you tries to run, I will kill you." The moon reflected brightly against his pitch black hair and his violet eyes made her simple brown ones feel more plain than ever before.

"I did not plan on it." She stated calmly as her mind raced with possibilities on how to get the girls away from these men. She did not think she could get away with trying the fight all three, there were too many, one could simply grab Ayana or Chizuru and kill them. Perhaps she could barter their escape. "But I will go with you freely for whatever reason you may want with me if you let the boys go."

Surprise flashed in the man's eyes that stood beside her, but his face quickly became blank again as he held the hilt of his katana tighter. Nakoma simply dropped her macahuitl to the snowy ground and stared at the man called Saito in front of her.

"Nakoma!" Chizuru gasped out and held her sister tighter. Suddenly there was a loud thump behind her and Nakoma quickly turned her head to see Chizuru passed out on the ground with Ayana hovering above her.

"Chizuru, this is not the time to pass out!" Ayana called out in irritation and slapped her younger sister's face lightly. Nakoma sighed and closed her eyes briefly before turning her face back around to face the three men.

"My, my! Did she faint because you scared her, Hijikata-san?" The man with brown hair called out with a laugh and Nakoma glared at him. He winked mischievously at her and she only returned her eyes to Saito.

"Vice-captain, what do we do with the bodies?" Saito asked calmly and the man named Hijikata looked at him. He sighed and put his sword away.

"Just remove their coats and let the inspectors handle the rest." He said while the man with brown hair walked up to her tomahawk and began to try and pull it out of the wood. Nakoma could not help the smirk that reached her lips as she watched the man grunt while it took him a few tries before he finally managed to pull it out. Hijikata rolled his eyes as the man began to mess with her tomahawk.

"You break that and I will kill you, I do not fancy making another." Nakoma said and watched as her tomahawk bounced up and down in the air. She narrowed her eyes as the man nearly missed catching it, but she knew he was teasing her as he began to chuckle.

"That's usually my line." He murmured before returning to his task of taking weapons off of them. Hijikata stepped up to Nakoma and carefully picked up her macahuitl, he glanced momentarily at the strange weapon that was clearly entirely made of wood except for two strips of obsidian, one on each side, glittering in the moon.

"Be careful, it's sharper than it looks." Nakoma said quietly, hoping to get at least a bit of a rise from the man who was beginning to irritate her, along with his friends. He simply returned his gaze back to her and waited silently. She sighed quietly as she removed her dagger and then her war club. She handed them to Hijikata before beginning to remove her bow and her quiver.

"I will take those." Saito said quietly and she turned to him. He saw as she held the bow in her hand gently and could see her displeasure in parting with it. "I will hold on to them with great care." He said as he grasped the wood of the bow gently and then the strap of the quiver. The bow was clearly hand made and he inspected the symbols etched into the wood curiously as he had not seen such symbols before. But, then again, he had never seen someone quite like her either.

She was as foreign as her weapons themselves. He glanced at her tanned skin with markings peeking out on the space of skin that showed between the end of her sleeve and the beginning of her hand wrap. Her long hair, that was as black as Hijikata's, went down her back in one long braid, a type that he hadn't seen before. Some of her hair framed her face, preventing him from seeing some of it, but he could see the long straight bridge of her nose that rounded softly at the end and her high cheek bones. She glanced at him and nodded thanks for his vow to take care of her weapons, an understanding passed between one warrior to another.

"What do we do with these two?" The man she hadn't learned the name of yet asked Hijikata.

"We'll take them back to headquarters," he said after a moment of silence. The man looked at him in shock and then glanced at the woman and the two boys behind her.

"Eh? Is it safe not to kill them?" He asked in disbelief and Nakoma tensed up as soon as she heard the words leave him mouth. "At the very least her! They saw what happened." He said while looking at the woman, she was clearly ready for a fight. Hijikata gave him a look of warning before turning and walking away.

"We'll decide what to do with them after we return." He said and Nakoma quickly turned as she saw Saito bent over, getting ready to carry Chizuru.

"I'll carry him!" She said quickly and took a step towards them. He glanced up at her and studied her for a moment. "Besides, it will be easier for you to watch me, correct? I cannot attack you if I am carrying around an unconscious boy." He may have been nice in reassuring her he would not hurt her bow, but she still only trusted him about as far as she could throw him.

"Fine," he said shortly and stepped back as she gently picked up Chizuru. She softly pushed some hair out of her face and glanced down at Ayana.

"You remain next to me unless they force you otherwise, do you understand?" She asked her sharply, but Saito could see the concern in her eyes.

"Yes!" Ayana said quickly and sidled up next to her.

Nakoma kneeled quietly in the room, her hands were tied to her ankles and blackness surrounded her from the moment they placed the blindfold over her eyes. She figured they feared her finding a way to escape if she had view of the room which was untrue, but she didn't protest. The less they fought the more likely they could make escape or they would be released. At the very least she would make her offer once more in hopes that Ayana and Chizuru would be released. She could not help but feel thankful though that the man named Saito insured that she saw that Ayana and Chizuru were covered with a blanket before she was blindfolded.

Her head twitched as she began to hear rustling in the bed. Soon she heard a muffled cry and louder rustling in the bed.

"Quiet you two, you will only hurt yourselves if your ties are anything like mine." She said calmly and soon the noises began to quiet, all that could be heard in the room was nervous breathing. They waited in silence for a while longer before Nakoma heard the soft sound of the sliding door.

"Are you awake?" She heard a gentle voice ask and she began to wonder who it was; the voice was new. "I'm sorry you were treated like this." She felt gentle hands at the back of her head and immediately slammed her eyes shut. As she felt the sun shine through her eyelids she began to open them slowly. Once the spots had left her eyes, she could see a man standing before her. He was older than the others and had a kind face. The medicine man of her tribe flashed before her eyes and she had to look away. He too once had a kind face like this man before he was gone. "I'll untie the ropes, please wait a moment." The man said after studying the young woman in front of him, Hijikata was certainly not lying when he said he had never seen a woman like her before.

"Ah that Souji Okita," he murmured as he untied her hands from her feet but left them tied. "Being tied so tightly, it must have been rough." So the man from last night, his name was Okita? She was glad to finally be able to put a name to the face since he failed to give her one as he tightened the ropes harshly. He quickly untied the girls as well and helped them all to stand up.

"My name is Inoue Genzaburou." Inoue said with a polite smile and Nakoma nodded.

"I am Nakoma and these are my charges." She said quietly and Inoue nodded before holding up the ropes in his hand, one attached to each set of wrists.

"Where are we?" Nakoma heard Chizuru ask timidly followed by Ayana trying to quickly shush her.

"The Shinsengumi Headquarters of course." Inoue said and Chizuru gasped rather loudly. "You don't need to be afraid, can you come with me a moment?" He gave them a kind smile and Nakoma shook away the images of her tribe from her mind, she could not let them cloud her thoughts at the moment. Nakoma gave Inoue a quick nod before he smiled once more and led them to a different room.

Inoue paused to open a door before gesturing to Nakoma to enter first. She nodded to him before slowly walking in, keeping her focus on the three men at the front of the room. As soon as she entered the room she heard many whispers, but they did not bother her. She had been in Japan for quite some time now and was quite used to the bewildered stares and whispers of disgust by now.

She studied the three men in the front as they studied her. She recognized Hijikata from the night before, but the other two were new. One looked nervous while the other man, with glasses, looked at her with curiosity.

"Good morning," She heard the voice of who she now knew to be Okita come from behind her. "Did you sleep well? It looks like that one did." He said teasingly and Nakoma sighed, she truly began to hope that she didn't have stay here solely because of that brat. She quickly tuned out the rest of his teasing of Ayana and Chizuru to glance at Saito instead as he walked past her, she assumed he was going over there to reel in that Okita.

"That's enough." She heard Hijikata snap and she turned her attention back to him. "Cut the idle chat."

"Hai." Okita said quietly and sighed, Nakoma was just relieved she didn't have to hear him speak any longer.

"Are those the witnesses?" She heard a new voice and she quickly turned her head towards it. Her piece of hair with beads woven into it slapped her face gently. She saw a group of three men, well two men and a boy really. The youngest one was staring straight at Ayana and Chizuru, scrutinizing them, as was the man with the red hair. She was startled slightly though when she looked to the other man, with the green headband tied around his head, and he was staring right at her. His eyes shined a beautiful shade of turquoise that she had found in only some of the finest beads from her homeland.

"So thin and small, are you still kids?" The boy asked and Nakoma had to refrain a laugh, he sounded much like the little warriors to be at home. She could not help the soft smile that pulled the corners of her lips up a bit, but she quickly looked away and pushed the smile off her face.

"You can't say 'kid' to anyone Heisuke!" The man with the turquoise eyes said with a laugh and proceeded to quickly lean down and rub the kid's hair.

"From all the saints' and sages' point of views, you're both similar." The man with the red hair said with a smirk and the boy glared at him.

"The old men should shut up!" He cried out indignantly and pushed the other man's hand away.

"What did you say, bochama?" The man with the green headband asked in mock irritation, pushing down on Heisuke's head.

"I don't think I'm old enough to be called an old man by you. I can't speak for Shinpachi, but I'm not!" The other man said, the smirk still strong on his face. Well don't they just make a trio? Nakoma thought amusedly to herself.

"Hey, are you betraying me, Sano?!" Shinpachi asked with even more mock irritation. Shinpachi's a nice name, Nakoma thought and immediately berated herself for letting her thoughts stray. She quickly turned herself fully around to the front of the room so she would not get distracted by the three again.

"Will the three of you cut it out already?" The man who looked slightly nervous earlier asked, now with a stern look coming over his face.

"I apologize for all the gossip." The man with glasses said politely and looked at Ayana and Chizuru. "Please don't be afraid, close that and sit down." He said and Nakoma slowly got down in a kneeling position, careful not to fall over since her hands weren't exactly of any use to her at the moment. Chizuru quickly shut the door, she and Ayana quickly knelt down next to Nakoma. Ayana tried to hide her nerves by sitting like Nakoma, back straight with a look of pride on her face. Ayana didn't think she had ever once saw the look of fear on Nakoma's face, except perhaps on the night her father found Nakoma and took her in.

"I am the leader of the Shinsengumi, Kondo Isami." Kondo started, glancing at the three that kneeled before him. He could see that the two boys clearly looked up to the woman next to them as they tried to kneel just like her, albeit they were failing miserably, but they were still trying. "This is Captain San'nan, and this person is Toshi—I mean, Hijikata Toshizo, the vice-captain—"

"Kondo-san!" Hijikata called out in irritation, his glare turned towards Kondo. "Why are you telling them all of this?!"

"I-Is that bad?" Kondo asked in confusion.

"You don't have to introduce yourself to people you are going to interrogate." Shinpachi said and Nakoma sighed softly, she wished they could just get this over with already.

"Well, that over-formality is just like Kondo-San." She heard the man named Sano say behind her, she could hear the light affection and respect in his voice for Kondo.

"Well," Kondo said with a sigh, looking down a bit to try and hide his embarrassed face. "Let's discuss the main topic. First, let me hear about what happened last night, Saito-kun."

"Last night, failed warriors encountered some rebels in the city." Saito said, short and to the point, just like Nakoma liked it. Though she had to admit to herself that she was at least a bit curious what he meant by failed warriors. Is that what those crazed samurai were, to her a failed warrior was usually one who was dead.

"It ended in a fight, but we dealt with them. These people witnessed that fight." He said shortly once again.

"I didn't see anything!" Chizuru cried out, her nerves finally taking over and Nakoma sent her a sharp look that clearly told her to shut her mouth.

"Really?" Heisuke asked skeptically.

"They did not see anything." Nakoma said quietly and the room went silent. None could deny their curiosity for the foreign woman sitting in the middle of their meeting room. "They are my charges; I was trying to protect them from those Ronin. Then those samurai came, your samurai came, and killed them. One then came for me and I had to kill him, the man named Saito killed the other before I could myself. I was the only one who saw the fight." She finished with confidence and stared straight into the eyes of Kondo.

"Yeah and nearly chopped his face off while he was at it." She heard Okita mumble off to the side.

"I apologize." Nakoma said and looked at Saito. "I did not know you were there, I only heard shuffling behind me and assumed it was the other coming to try and kill me as well. I didn't think I had much time and acted on instinct." Saito glanced at her and nodded before looking away again.

"Is this true Saito-kun?" Kondo asked.

"But according to what Souji said, the boys helped the soldiers as well?" Shinpachi asked.

"That's not true!" Ayana and Chizuru both cried out and Nakoma sighed, wishing she could slap her own forehead with her hand at the moment. No, perhaps it would be more effective if she slapped theirs.

"Hush you two!" She reprimanded and they both fell silent. Nakoma bit her lip for a moment, she didn't think they saw anything, but it would be just like Ayana and Chizuru to be peeking. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed before turning back to the three men in front of her.

"Nakoma killed one and then the Shinsengumi killed the other! We took no part!" Chizuru blurted out and Nakoma nearly growled, she loved that girl to death but sometimes...

"What did I just say?!" She asked and glared at her. Chizuru gave her a look of apology and blushed. Nakoma softened her expression a bit and shook her head, telling her it was alright.

"Then you saw very well when the warriors killed the rebels, didn't you?" Shinpachi asked and Nakoma resisted the urge to glare at him. They were just kids! Why couldn't they just deal with only her instead?

"You are really honest." Sano said. "That isn't bad, but..."

"Come on, let's just kill them!" Okita said with a tone of amusement. "It's the best way to silence them."

Before anyone could barely blink, Nakoma quickly rolled so that she put herself in between Okita and the two girls. She glared fiercely at him and behind her Ayana smirked slightly, knowing exactly what look Nakoma was giving him. It had quite a few delinquents back at home running.

"Don't say outrageous things." Kondo scolded him quickly, hoping to ease the tension that now suffocated the room. He didn't know what look the woman was giving Okita, but it couldn't be good, if the mood of the room was anything to go by. "The authorities of the country can't kill innocent people like that!"

"Don't make that face, it was just a joke." Okita said, but Nakoma didn't waver. She was practically begging for a reason to kick this man's ass, but she wouldn't let that show.

"Only say jokes that sound like jokes." Saito said quietly, he glanced at the woman as she balanced on the balls of her feet. Her muscles were tight and she was poised to jump at any moment. He wasn't sure what exactly she would do, but it couldn't be anything good. She certainly surprised him already with that axe like weapon last night.

"Please," Chizuru cried out to the men in front of her, now afraid for Nakoma's life. Chizuru knew Nakoma would gladly give her life protecting theirs and she didn't want that. "We won't say anything to anybody!" She said desperately.

"That's enough, take them away." Hijikata said calmly and soon Ayana and Chizuru were being grabbed by the arm by Saito and Inoue. Nakoma quickly stood, ready to chase after them when she felt a hand grab her own arm. She glanced up to see it was the man with the pretty eyes, Shinpachi. She quickly looked away from him and towards Hijikata. He nodded towards the floor in front of him. Nakoma wasn't quite sure what to do, she was worried about Ayana and Chizuru. She quickly glanced at the open doorway before sighing and nodding.

Shinpachi released her arm gently before quickly untying her hands and she quietly kneeled before Hijikata once more, rubbing her sore wrists. "You risk your life to protect them, why?" Hijikata asked, getting quickly to the point.

"They are my charges, I promised their father I would not allow harm to come to them." She glanced at Kondo and San'nan before returning her eyes to Hijikata. "As you can clearly see, I'm not a native to Japan. Though I did not come here voluntarily, their father found me almost dead and took me in. I owe him my life and I love those two like they are my own. I would protect them regardless of what their father has done for me." She told him in earnest and he regarded her for a moment.

"Why are you here?" He asked, not responding to her story.

"We are from Edo; their father is a doctor with knowledge of Western medicine along with some knowledge of the medicinal practices of my own people. He left six months ago and we haven't heard from him in a month. They wished to look for their father and I agreed to go with them." Though now I'm starting to regret letting them convince me to do so.

"I see, they just wanted to find their father." Kondo said sympathetically.

"And you made them dress as boys as you would be less likely to be attacked on your journey." Saito murmured and Nakoma nodded at him with a sigh.

"I see..." Kondo murmured thoughtfully and Nakoma smirked when his eyes flew open in shock. "Wait, hold on, they're girls?!"

"Yes, I know, though I'm surprised they even managed to pass off as boys. Chizuru is much too squeamish." Nakoma said calmly and Hijikata chuckled slightly. "They're names are Yukimura Chizuru and Yukimura Ayana."

"They're girls?" Clearly Shinpachi had not been able to get past that point yet as she turned her head towards him. Nakoma had to hold back a chuckle at the look of shock on his face, his eyes were wide and jaw was slightly dropped.

"It can't be!" Heisuke cried out and Nakoma simply shrugged, she couldn't do much else to convince them.

"I thought it was obvious." Okita said and Nakoma nearly rolled her eyes.

"Well you did see Chizuru pass out and the both of them cower like women behind me. I would say you had more of a chance to figure it out than those three." She said with a slight jerk of her head towards Sano, Shinpachi, and Heisuke.

"Yeah, but...you don't have any proof of this." Shinpachi said unsurely and she turn towards the trio.

"And what proof would you require?" She asked, staring straight into his eyes. He blushed slightly and let out a small chuckle, scratching the back of his head with a shrug.

"Well how about we have them strip?" Sano asked and Nakoma immediately sent a deathly glare his way, her hand flying to her waist.

"Excuse me?" She asked hotly and clenched her hand shut when she remembered that she did not have her weapons on her at the moment.

"I will not allow it!" Kondo cried indignantly and earnestly, Nakoma wanted to sigh in relief, but she continued to keep her eyes on the red haired man behind her, unsure if she should trust him. "That is absolutely forbidden!"

"Calm down please," San'nan requested calmly and she slowly turned back to the three in the front with a nod.

"Thank you Commander Kondo," Nakoma said calmly and bowed her head to him.

"Is their father perhaps Yukimura Koudou, practitioner of Western Medicine?" San'nan asked and Nakoma narrowed her eyes, what was his game?

"Perhaps," she said carefully while she watched him, looking for any sign of ill intent. Hijikata sighed and stood up.

"I will go and bring the girls back." He murmured, but neither San'nan nor Nakoma moved, each staring the other down. They waited for a few moments before the door slid open again. Ayana and Chizuru ran towards Nakoma as soon as they saw her.


	2. Snowflake Capital Pt 2

**Alright so a few things before you read!**

 ***I realized I didn't say anything about this last chapter: a medicine man (can also be a woman) are simply healers of a tribe, many people hear them referred to as shamans,** ** _but_** **the term shaman was created by people of European descent and** ** _not_** **the Native Americans, if I remember correctly I read a few places they don't even like the term**

 ***Here the meanings of the names you see in this chapter: Sialea-Lea means Little Bluebird, Dibe means Lamb, and Abukcheech means mouse**

 ***The names above are Native American names, eventually Nakoma will give everyone a name of affection,** ** _but_** **there will be some I will not tell the meaning of right away, I may hold contests of sorts for guessing the meaning of the name based on the character and what not**

 ***Speaking of contests if any wishes to play: the name Nakoma is not simply one I just looked up on the internet, it comes from one of my favorite things! If you can guess where I got the name from and the meaning of the name I will consider the winner's idea for a potential plotline/character**

 ***Also I apologize now for any mess ups with the honorifics, I've been trying to get them right, but I don't think I am haha if you find a mistake please let me know and I'll fix it**

 ***I did some looking up about everyone's ages and decided that I'm going to follow the following ages: Chizuru is 18, Saito and Heisuke are 19, Ayana is 20, Okita is 21, Harada and Nakoma are 23, Nagakura is 24, Hijikata is 28, Kondou is 29, San'nan is 30, Gen-san is 34, and Shimada is 35, I couldn't find anything on Yamazaki so I'm gonna assume he's somewhere in age range of Saito, Heisuke, and Okita. If you find any other info that says differently please let me know (:**

 ***Thanks for reviewing and following Scintilla of Myself and thanks for following basecannon!**  
 **Anyways, hope you enjoy! (:**

Part 2

"Nakoma! We were so worried!" Ayana cried out and hugged her tightly. Nakoma sighed and patted her head with a soft smile.

"I am fine Sialea-lea; they did not touch me." She said reassuringly, Ayana nodded and kneeled on her one side with Chizuru kneeled on her other side, gripping her hand tightly.

"Please do not hurt her! I know she almost harmed one of you and she is not from Japan, but please, she did not mean it! We need her!" Chizuru cried worriedly and Nakoma made a shushing noise, patting her hand.

"It's alright Dibe, hush now." Nakoma said to calm down Chizuru as well. Chizuru blushed slightly and looked down with a nod.

"Is your father Yukimura Koudou?" Hijikata went straight to the point and Nakoma shot him a quick glare, realizing that he knew that the two girls would let the truthful answer slip past their lips.

"You know of father?!" Chizuru asked with a gasp.

"Is he alright?!" Ayana cried out after and Hijikata sighed.

"How much do you know?" Hijikata asked simply and all three went silent for a moment.

"How much?" Chizuru asked in confusion and even Nakoma had to furrow her eyebrows. Koudou-san usually told her everything, especially if he was leaving the girls in her care.

"We do not know what you speak of." Nakoma said earnestly and looked straight in Hijikata's eyes, hoping he would see the honesty in them.

"You know nothing?" Hijikata asked skeptically and Nakoma gave a quick shake of her head.

"I believe them." Saito said quietly and Nakoma quickly turned her head towards him. She wasn't sure why, but this young man had been helping her since the moment she handed her bow and quiver over to him. "About a month ago, there was a fire at the clinic that Koudou-san worked in. He has been missing ever since."

"There is no sign of him?" Nakoma asked in shock, her eyes widened slightly. Her thoughts immediately began to race, she wondered if she could convince them to tell her where this clinic was, perhaps she could track him. She had no doubt that these men had no practice or skill in tracking, they were clearly warriors, not hunters.

"There was no body found in the aftermath." San'nan supplied quietly and Nakoma nodded. "However, it is possible he was involved in some sort of incident."

"We're in the process of searching for him now." Hijikata said and all three turned their attention toward him. "If you forget all about last night, you three may stay here until we find Koudou-san." Nakoma nodded and glanced around to see the rest of the captains looking at her wearily, but what surprised her was there was also a light of genuine curiosity there as well, something that was new to her.

"Don't worry we'll find him." Kondo told Ayana and Chizuru, trying to reassure them. They're faces lit up with bright smiles and Nakoma swore they nearly squealed.

"Oh, thank you very much!" Chizuru cried out as Ayana nodded in agreement.

"If you allow me to and you promise to watch over the girls when I am not with them, I can help you." Nakoma offered quietly and they all went silent.

"How do you mean? We don't need anymore fighters." Okita said with a scoff. Nakoma nearly rolled her eyes but let out a short chuckle instead.

"Don't be foolish, you can never have too many warriors, but no that is not what I meant." She said and glared at the man leaning against the wall behind her. She really wished she could smack that smug look off his face with her club, she wouldn't hit him too hard.

"Then how do you mean?" Hijikata asked, his brow furrowed in curiosity.

"I am a very skilled hunter; I have been learning the skills since I was a child. One of those skills is tracking." She supplied and she heard Okita scoff once again behind her.

"A hunter? That's rich, why would you need to know how to hunt?" He asked and Nakoma sighed wearily, it felt like she was speaking with a small stubborn child.

"Are you Native American perhaps?" She heard San'nan ask quietly and she turned to face him in shock. No one she had met in Japan had ever guessed that.

"Yes...how did you know?" She asked, surprise could be heard in her voice as Ayana watched San'nan wearily. Most people treated Nakoma even more harshly once they learned where she was truly from.

"Your looks and the things you've spoken of yourself thus far. You live off the land correct?" He asked calmly and she nodded slowly.

"Oh! You mean the savages in the Americas right?! I've heard of them!" Heisuke cried out in excitement. Nakoma normally could ignore it, but today she couldn't help it, she hadn't had much sleep and too much had happened. Her head whipped around and she gave Heisuke the deadliest glare she believed she could give him, she hated the term, idiots thinking her people were savage because they did not live the same way they did. Ayana did the same and gave Heisuke the harshest glare she could muster, though it was not nearly as scary as Nakoma's, and Heisuke couldn't help the thought that she looked kind of cute that pass through his head. Chizuru merely gasped and brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes widening in shock. She did not hear or see the way people treated Nakoma as often as Ayana and she was always in disbelief that anyone could treat a person that way.

"Oi!" Shinpachi cried out and smacked the back of Heisuke's head. "Keep your big trap shut for once, eh?!" Nakoma once again felt a flash of shock run through her. Her eyes widened as she stared at the man with the turquoise eyes. She had never had anyone do that for her before, not even Koudou or the girls, she would not allow them to for fear that they could get into trouble for doing so.

"I, uh..." She stuttered out and cleared her throat, a light blush forming on her cheeks that you could barely see due to the color of her skin. "Thank you." She managed to get out quietly and turned her head to the floor in embarrassment. Shinpachi simply shrugged, the red returning to his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head. Normally, he was not one to blush so easily, at least he thought so, but he couldn't help but feel the slight spark of satisfaction that appeared in his chest when she blushed for him.

Heisuke glanced between the two of them and a sly grin began to form on his face. So Shinpachi likes the foreign girl, eh? He could tease him for months about this. He suddenly felt a whack on his arm and he turned a glare towards Sano who was giving him a look of warning.

"We must think about how we will treat them." San'nan piped up, a pleasant smile on his face. "This is the home of warriors, all of whom are men. We cannot simply just let these two walk around wherever they wish to go." Nakoma looked up and nodded in agreement with him. She knew how men were and she did not wish to deal with having to watch every single man in this compound that went near Ayana or Chizuru.

"Well why don't we make them somebody's servants?" Hijikata offered and Nakoma resisted glaring at him for his word choice. A harsh man's laugh from a time passed began to echo in her ears and she shut her eyes for a moment, willing the sound to go away. "Kondo-san's or San'nan-san's."

"No way, Hijikata-san." Okita said with amusement in his voice. "As the man with the idea, responsibility should fall to you." Anyone could clearly hear the laughter Okita was trying to hold back, Nakoma did roll her eyes this time.

"What?" Hijikata asked in surprised, there was an unpleasant tone twinged in his voice.

"Yeah, they'll be safe by your side, Toshi!" Kondo said happily, Nakoma could hear the amusement in his voice as well. Clearly this was something new for this vice-commander.

"It's decided, do your best to take care of them, will you?" San'nan asked, a slight mocking tone in his voice.

"You-you bastards!" Hijikata growled out as they all laughed at him.

"I will do my best to keep them out of your hair." Nakoma said calmly with a small smile on her face, she hoped it would at least make him feel a little better. His companions were certainly a lively bunch. Hijikata gave her a slight nod of relief as Okita smiled smugly at him.

January 1864

"Nakoma! Nakoma!" Nakoma turned at the sound of children's voice calling out to her in glee. A soft smile crossed her face as a group of small children ran up to her, surrounding her and hugging her legs.

"Well hello there little ones." She said warmly and the children smiled up at her. It was a beautiful day that day and she had readied herself to go hunting.

"Are you going somewhere Nakoma?!" One little boy asked eagerly and she nearly laughed at all their hopeful faces. She could feel the green paint on her face beginning to dry, as well as the rest of paint meant to camouflage her body.

"Today is my day to hunt Abukcheech." She said teasingly and ruffled his hair as he crossed his little arms and pouted.

"Can we come?!" A little girl asked excitedly and they all cheered. Nakoma did laugh this time and gave them a sly look.

"Well..." She trailed off and looks of disappointment began to flash across their chubby faces. "I suppose we need to make more camouflage paint then, yes?" She asked with a sly voice and they all cheered before taking off to get the necessary ingredients for the paint.

Nakoma sat up with a gasp and quickly looked around. She placed a shaky hand to her forehead and sighed.

"I am sorry Abukcheech." She whispered to herself, willing herself not to cry. It was still quite dark out and cold enough that she could see the puffs of air leave her mouth. She could see the tendrils of morning begin to creep over the sky and decided perhaps now may be a good time to look for guidance.

She glanced back at the two sleeping girls sharing a futon and cuddling up next to each other for warmth. She smiled softly and hoped they would soon be able to find room for her to have. She did not wish to wake them with her nightmares. She had feeling though that they wouldn't be able to "find" a room until they trusted her a bit more. She quietly wrapped her haori around herself, a bit thankful for thicker material, many of her clothes from home were made from lighter material and they needed to rely on blankets and other things when winter came.

She silently slid the door open and took a step outside, taking a deep breath of the cold refreshing air. She glanced to her left when she heard a shuffle and was a bit surprised to see Harada sitting there, he had not guarded them before. He glanced at her with a questioning look and she gave him a small polite smile.

"I am not trying to leave." She said quietly and slid the door shut. "I only wish to sit here for a moment if that is alright?" She hoped he would allow it and would not question her. Normally, it was Saito who was watching them at this time and he always allowed her to sit out here with him. He never asked why but knew she needed to, he was quite perceptive for being so young.

"Sure," he said quietly and with a nod, studying her as she slowly lowered herself to the ground. Her hair was not in a braid as he usually saw it but was loose, and he couldn't deny the surprise he felt at how long it was. The end of her hair sat delicately on the ground behind her, the small beads in it taping the ground whenever she made an adjustment to her stance. He stared curiously at the small intricate braids and beads here and there in her hair, most of the time they were hidden in her thick braid. He assumed they had some kind of meaning in her culture but he couldn't begin to guess what. His eyes widened in surprise as she sat with her legs crossed, one over the other and gently placed her hands on the top of each knee. Her eyes were closed and her face was serene besides the small, knowing smile on her lips.

"Saito had the same expression the first time I came out here. Albeit, it was less noticeable, but it was still there." He could hear a twinge of amusement in her voice and he smiled a bit. Ever since they agreed to allow the three to stay here, it had certainly been an experience. The Yukimura girls were magnets of accidental trouble and that was something they could handle with ease. Nakoma on the other hand was something all together new and none of them were quite sure how to handle her, except perhaps for Saito. Harada wasn't surprised at that though, those two could be two peas in a pod, with how blank and quiet they were most of the time. Saito they were used to, Nakoma on the other hand, they weren't sure what her silence meant.

"Please don't judge her too harshly, she doesn't mean to come off as rude or anything. She has...been through a lot and, for the most part, it hasn't gotten much better since she got stuck here. I promise, once she gets to know you, she really is a talker!" Harada remembered the advice Ayana gave Heisuke, Shinpachi, and him one day as they all watched Nakoma curiously. He couldn't help but still feel doubt about that statement, it had been at least two weeks and this was the first time she had said more than two words to him.

"I just...have never seen someone sit like that before." He stuttered out with a slight wince when he realized how long he had been sitting there silently staring at her. She let out a light laugh and he smiled slightly at the sound, no matter where they were from it was always nice to make a woman laugh.

"Yes, that is usually the answer that is given. It is actually the typical way my people sit." She said, the twinge of amusement still in her voice and her eyes remained closed. She breathed in and out slowly, then slightly tilted her head up as the wind lightly blew past them, her smile widening.

"What exactly is it that you are doing?" He asked in confusion, she almost looked like she was meditating, but that wasn't quite right.

"Listening," was all she said and continued to breathe in and out slowly, the slowly lightening sky beginning to light up her face.

"Listening?" Harada asked, now even more confused. What the hell was she listening for? She only smiled lightly before finally opening her as eyes and glancing down at the spear laying by his side.

"It has been quite sometime since I've seen a spear." She began with a bright smile on her face. She held out her hand with a questioning look and after a small bit of hesitation, he handed the weapon to her. He trusted her not to try anything with it, she had not tried anything of the sort since arriving here. She even let them hold on to her tomahawk, he at least thought that was what she called it, and her bow and quiver with Saito's promise he would take care of them. Harada had never seen the black mineral that she used on her weapons before, but he did have to admit they were quite sharp.

"The spear is a very important weapon to my people." She said as she gently ran her hands down the wooden shaft. She had loving smile on her face and the look of nostalgia in her eyes as she examined the wood work and tip. "It does not seem as important here though, but I'm glad to have seen one again, thank you." She said and gently handed back the weapon to him. He nodded in return.

"Do you know how to fight with one?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I know the basics, but I am no expert. I chose to spend my time improving my skill with a bow and arrow in both hunting and battle rather than the spear." He nodded again and placed the spear on the ground. She returned to her original position and the area had a peaceful stillness once again. He decided he wouldn't disturb her again and looked out into the courtyard. He still didn't know what she was listening for but he began to guess that he wouldn't be getting an answer anytime soon.

It was later that day that Nakoma sat behind Ayana, combing the girl's hair, as she and Chizuru quietly complained to each other about not being able to go look for their father.

"I wonder when we'll be able to go look for father? Maybe we'll remained locked up like this for good..." Chizuru said with a sigh and hopeless look on her face.

"Patience Dibe," Nakoma murmured quietly and Chizuru only sighed once more.

"I'd say that's up to your conviction, wouldn't you?" A voice called out from the open window and Nakoma sighed with her eyes closed as the two girls gasped in surprise. That man did not know how to shut up, did he? The girls jumped up and looked out the window.

"Okita-san, what are you..." Chizuru stuttered out as Nakoma appeared from behind them, resisting the urge to glare at the infuriating man.

"Huh? Did you not notice?" Okita asked mischievously and Nakoma scoffed while rolling her eyes, he knew perfectly well that Ayana and Chizuru did not know he was there. "Come this time of day, I'm the one in charge of watching you." He reminded the two girls and Chizuru blushed.

"Does that mean you heard everything?" Chizuru stupidly asked and Ayana smacked her sister's arm with a roll of her eyes as Okita gave them a sly grin.

"Tonight's dinner has been prepared." Saito announced as he suddenly appeared holding a large tray of food. Nakoma smiled lightly at him and nodded in greeting. Okita narrowed his eyes at the two of them in irritation, how can Saito, the man who was practically a statue, get anything out of the woman who's barely spoken in two weeks? "Are you about ready?"

"Saito-san! Have you been there this whole time?" Chizuru asked, her blush deepening when he nodded. Heisuke then popped up out of nowhere before Ayana could smack her sister's arm again. Nakoma lightly cleared her throat before giving Ayana a look of warning, Chizuru was already enough of a nervous wreck as it is, she didn't need her sister's help.

"Hey there!" Heisuke called out brightly to all of them and the two girls waved happily to him. Nakoma felt gratitude towards the young boy, he had been very kind to the girls since they arrived and helped them feel less nervous about being stuck in their headquarters, it was very thoughtful of him. "It's feedin' time!" Heisuke said, glancing at Saito and Okita.

"I have work to do, you go ahead and eat." Saito said, calm the only thing reading across his face as per usual. Nakoma admitted to herself that she missed his presence this morning, he was much like she was now and he didn't disturb her when she wanted to sit outside. She was sure he wanted to know what she was doing; she would feel the quick curious glances he would send her way, but neither ever said anything and just sat in peace instead.

"Hijikata-san's orders were to not take our eyes off them for a moment, especially that one." He said while pointing at me, I only smirked in amusement.

"Perhaps he had the right idea, at least for you." Nakoma said with an eyebrow raised. "You never know what I might do when your back is turn Okita." Ayana let out a little giggle and quickly covered her mouth to stop it. She could tell just how much Okita infuriated Nakoma and she could already picture what she might to do to him if she had a chance.

"Then we should just let them eat with us, right?" Heisuke asked quickly before Okita opened his big mouth again and really got himself into trouble. Nakoma was patient and quiet, she rarely revealed anything, but even he could tell Okita didn't exactly sit right with her.

"We were ordered not to let them leave the room." Saito said. Nakoma would be glad to be allowed to move farther from the porch, but she didn't want to get Saito and Heisuke in trouble, she assumed that it would only make the situation they were in worse for them. She figured the best thing to do was to just be patient and wait till they felt like they could trust them enough to let them out more.

"What's the harm?" Heisuke asked, smiling once more at Ayana and Chizuru, he even tried his luck out with Nakoma. She gave him a small, but warm, smile in return, she figured he deserved that much at least for trying to brighten the girls' spirits. His smile grew even wider into one of triumph and Nakoma couldn't help but let out the small chuckle at his enthusiasm. She felt a spike of pain in her heart as his enthusiasm reminded her of the children in her tribe, of the little boys like Abukcheech. "Hijikata-san's gone off to Osaka!" He said with even more confidence in his tone now.

"That's right," Okita said as he stood and stretched. "I'm tired of watching those two eat while that one over there gives me the stink eye." He said, jutting his thumb in Nakoma's general direction. Chizuru and Ayana giggled while Saito rolled his eyes, it was quick and subtle, but Nakoma sent him a sly smile when she saw it. Saito blushed and quickly turned away, these poor men don't know how to deal with women in the slightest, do they? Nakoma thought with amusement, trying not to laugh as Saito shoved the large tray in Heisuke's hands and took off as fast as he would allow himself.

"You took your time!" Nakoma heard someone cry out as they entered the room and she immediately recognized it as Nagakura's voice. Ever since it was decided they would be staying here Nakoma tended to avoid Shinpachi. She never had anyone stand up for her before and she wasn't quite sure how to act around him. "What are you guys gonna do about the growls my stomach's been makin?!" He asked with a pout and Ayana giggled at the expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, it's our fault." Chizuru said as she entered the room, Nakoma smiled at her and shook her head. Chizuru was just too sweet sometimes, she could never stand anybody being upset with her. She only hoped that wouldn't get her thrown to the wolves in a place like this.

"What are they doing here?" Harada asked in surprise and glanced at the three standing behind Heisuke with Okita standing behind them, but Okita didn't waste anytime sitting down in front of his tray now that they were in the room.

"What, you got a problem with it?" Heisuke asked challengingly.

"No, that ain't it!" Shinpachi said and looked at Nakoma with a grin. "Food tastes better when eaten together, right?" He wasn't sure why she was, but Shinpachi got the distinct feeling that Nakoma had been avoiding him since they got here and he was determined to get something out of her. Nakoma cleared her throat lightly before nodding quickly and looking away, trying to hide the light blush on her cheeks. Ayana tried to give a reassuring smile to Shinpachi when she saw the confusion grow on his face and she tried not to start laughing. She knew exactly why Nakoma was avoiding him, even if she maybe didn't know herself, and it was amusing to watch her.

"Look, quit just standin' there, have a seat!" Sano invited them over as him and Shinpachi made room for them. Heisuke quickly placed their food down in front of the cushions before backing up a bit so they could get through. Ayana and Chizuru gave each other mischievous looks before dashing forward and sitting down in the two spots not next to Shinpachi before Nakoma could. With a huff Nakoma glared at them in irritation and shock, she wasn't sure what those two were up to but she was going to kill them later.

"Well are yah gonna sit?" Heisuke asked and Nakoma jumped a little before turning towards him.

"Oh, of course, thank you Toudou-san." Nakoma tried to give him the best smile she could muster as Ayana and Chizuru giggled at this new behavior they had never seen come Nakoma before.

"Sure!" He said brightly with a slight blush on his cheeks. "But enough of the Toudou-san stuff. Everyone calls me Heisuke, so I'm fine with that." He said while scratching the back of his neck.

"Of course," Nakoma said before giving him another warm smile. She tried her best to hide her nerves as she went over and slowly sat down next to Shinpachi. She could still hear Ayana and Chizuru trying not to giggle as they started whispering to each other, she was sure that she heard her name in there once or twice, along with Nagakura's. She quickly leaned over and gave Ayana a light smack on the back of the head while trying to hide the blush that was still on her cheeks.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Ayana asked indignantly, but Nakoma only gave her a death glare. This caused Ayana to only let out another involuntary giggle before quickly turning back to her food. Above the girls' heads she could see Harada grinning widely at her, she gave him a small smile in return and turned back to her food. Suddenly an idea came to her as a way to bide her time as she waited for Hijikata to finally let them outside. She glanced at Shinpachi, a bit nervous to ask anything of him. Just as she was about to open her mouth, it ended up dropping in surprised instead as Shinpachi snatched the fish off of Heisuke's tray with a wide grin.

"Hey, Shinpatsu! Why do you always have to go after my food?" Heisuke cried indignantly as he tried in vain to get his fish back.

"It's all about body size!" Shinpachi cried out while laughing loudly. "Guys with bigger bodies need more to eat!"

"Well, I'm still a growing boy, so I gotta eat more!" Heisuke cried out again, changing tactics this time to try to grab Shinpachi's fish instead. A smile started to grow on Nakoma's face as she watched the two even though she tried pushing it away.

"Too slow!" Shinpachi cried out mockingly before grabbing the fish on his tray and shoving it in his mouth.

"You're eating it as is?!" Heisuke cried out in shock. "That's disgusting!" He made a face when all that was left was two small tail fins.

"Want this?" Shinpachi asked mockingly and Heisuke huffed.

"No, I don't!" Heisuke glared at him with irritation and Nakoma couldn't hold it in any longer. She began laughing, at first it was quiet and nobody really heard it, but soon she was holding her stomach and blushing as everyone looked at her in shock.

"You laugh?" Heisuke asked her in bewilderment which only caused her to laugh even harder and shake her head at him.

"Hey, look, I made her laugh!" Shinpachi cried out in triumph.

"No that was obviously me, you idiot!" Heisuke cried out and Nakoma started to take deep breaths to try and stop the laughter. Harada grinned at the three of them and he even spied Saito trying to hide a smile.

"It's been awhile since we heard Nakoma laugh like that." Chizuru said shyly but with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, those two can make just about anyone laugh." Harada chuckled and Chizuru blushed, but smiled brightly at him. "I have a feeling you two sat like this on purpose." He said slyly and Chizuru's expression showed of one being caught and her blush grew darker.

"Oh, well," she stuttered but her smile turned loving as she looked at Nakoma. "It was mostly Ayana's idea. We think Nakoma is not quite sure what to do with herself around Nagakura-san and she would just continue to avoid him if we didn't force her to sit next to him."

"Why would she be nervous around Shinpachi?" Harada asked in confusion, who could ever be nervous around him?

"I think you misunderstand her." Ayana leaned towards him behind Chizuru and Harada leaned towards her to hear her better. "No one has ever done what Nagakura-san did for her. She has never let us or father stand in her defense, even though there has been plenty of times we wanted to. She was always afraid we would get in trouble for it. I think he just shocked her is all, I don't think she's had people besides my father, sister, and myself be kind to her in a long time." Then a sly smirk grew across Ayana's face and she glanced back to make sure Nakoma was still distracted before turning back to Harada. "I also think she may like him, at least a little, she just doesn't know it yet." Harada chuckled before furrowing his brow.

"But, she's still a woman, a woman who has gone to great lengths to protect you two like you were her own no less. That's quite honorable no matter where she is from." Harada said with confusion and a bit of irritation. Ayana simply gave him a sad, but understanding, smile and shrugged.

"Some people just don't agree. All they see is the color of her skin and what they view as her strange ways. There are many people who hate so easily, if anything that is one thing I have learned from my time with Nakoma." She said earnestly and Harada glanced at Nakoma with a sigh. He could understand the hate for foreigners who came here and tried to change their ways, tried to dictate how they lived. But not every person was the same and clearly this woman didn't come here voluntarily, she shouldn't have been treated with such hatred.

"But why doesn't she go home?" Harada tried to ask Ayana without being heard by the others but it was Chizuru who answered.

"Because she can't." Chizuru answered softly and sadly. "But that is not my story to tell or Ayana's." Harada nodded respectfully even though he felt like he still really didn't get any answers about the woman sitting down the row from him, if anything he was only more confused.

"Nagakura-san," Nakoma nervously forced herself to say. She wanted to slap herself for how silly she was being; he was only one man. "May I ask you a question?" He turned to her with a bright smile, perhaps she wouldn't avoid him so much now. At least she was actually looking at him and speaking to him. It seemed like most days the only people that could anything out of her were Saito and Hesuike. Even then Saito didn't get much out of her because he wasn't one to talk very much himself and he could tell she was kinder to Heisuke for the way he treated the Yukimura sisters. There was some other reason as well, but he wasn't quite sure what it was, all he could tell was when she smiled at Heisuke a look of nostalgia and sorrow passed through her eyes.

"Sure! But you can call me Shinpachi if you'd like." He said with a wide grin and Nakoma wanted to roll her eyes when she felt her cheeks heat up slightly.

"Okay, I will," she conceded and tried her best to smile without looking awkward. "Do you guys happen to have some wood and carving knives?"

"Hmm, maybe the wood but not the knives." He regarded her with confusion for a moment before smiling slightly. "But if you would like my next time on day patrol I could glance through the market to see if I can find any." Nakoma's face immediately brightened with a smile and she momentarily forgot her nerves.

"Thank you, I will find some way to repay you if I can." She said calmly, her face returning to it's normal expression, but this time it seemed lighter and perhaps happier.

"May I ask why you want this stuff?" Shinpachi asked as he continued to eat and Nakoma shrugged with a slightly mischievous look in her eyes.

"Hmm, if you promise not tell." She said quietly as she started eating her food again.

"I swear!" He said with a bright smile and she chuckled, they certainly are eager, aren't they?

"I learned this morning that Harada uses a spear. Spears are an important weapon in my culture, there is a tool I would like to carve for him to help with his spear if he wanted it." She shrugged with a blush. "It would give me something to do while we waited for Hijikata-san to give us the okay to leave, it shouldn't take too long to make."

"Well I'll be sure to be on the look out for those knives and I won't tell a soul." He said with a reassuring smile and felt a strange sensation of satisfaction when she gave him another small smile. Perhaps he should thank Ayana and Chizuru later, he wasn't sure why they did what they did, Nakoma seemed to if the glares were anything to go by, but it certainly seemed to help his situation with her.

"Thank you by the way." She said quietly and concentrated on her rice when Shinpachi looked at her in confusion.

"What for?" He asked and she shrugged before looking out the window that was open to let fresh air through. Memories of home flash through her mind and she tried to quickly shake them away, she began to wonder if she would ever get them to stop popping up at random.

"No one has ever..." She began but felt the words stick in her throat, she wasn't sure how she wanted to say this. "For a long time now I have gotten used to people calling my people and I savages, it's rare for me to hear someone do the opposite." Understanding passed over his face before irritation settled there.

"You shouldn't have to thank me." He said and she looked at him in confusion. "It shouldn't be a rare occurrence for you to have someone stop another from harassing you." He explained and she looked back at her rice bowl.

"Oh." Was all she managed to get out with a nod. The man confused her to no end and she wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry by the way." She looked up at the sound of Heisuke's voice and smiled at him again.

"It is alright Heisuke, you were already forgiven. I could tell you did not say it to try and hurt me on purpose." Nakoma said and her smile grew a bit warmer. He smiled brightly at her and went back to his food, she chuckled and shook her head before continuing to eat her food.

Suddenly the door slid open to reveal Inoue with a worried expression on his face. "May I have a moment everyone?" He asked and Nakoma looked up at him, putting down her chopsticks on her tray. "We have received a message from Hijikata, who is in Osaka. It seems that, in the course of his duties, San'nan-san incurred great injury." Some gasped in concern while Nakoma furrowed her eyebrows, but remained silent.

"And? How is San'nan-san?" Shinpachi asked worriedly and Nakoma watched Inoue's facial expressions closely.

"The letter said his wounds are deep, but the injury is to his left arm. It will be difficult for him to hold a sword, but his life is not in danger." Everyone looked down solemnly and Nakoma closed her eyes, praying silently to the spirits to send San'nan-san strength. Though she may not know him very well, he has been nothing but kind to her since she came here.

"Oh, good." Chizuru breathed out a sigh of relief and both Nakoma and Ayana sent her a glare that clearly told her to be quiet.

"It ain't good!" Heisuke cried out and Chizuru blushed, her face showing confusion. Nakoma reached over and kindly patted her arm.

"A sword requires two arms Dibe, if he has permanent damage to his arm, he may never be able to use his sword again." She said and Chizuru looked down sadly.

"Oh," was all she said and Nakoma squeezed her hand one more time before straightening herself up.

"If you'll excuse me then, I have something to discuss with Kondo-san." Inoue said shortly before turning and leaving.

"Well then, that just means he'll have to take the medicine, huh?" Okita murmured after Inoue closed the door and everyone turned to him sharply. Nakoma furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him suspiciously, she has never heard of a medicine that could cure San'nan's possibly permanent injuries.

"Don't be a fool!" Shinpachi growled at him with a glare and Nakoma cleared her throat lightly before the tension could rise any higher.

"If I may," she began calmly and clasped her hands together as everyone now turned their attention to her. "I have medical skill; at home..." she trailed off for a moment before shaking her head lightly. "Many of my fellow warriors would get injuries similar to San'nan-san's, depending on the injury I may be able to help him...if you let me that is. I have also learned many things from Koudou-san in my time with him." The room was silent as everyone contemplated her words.

"I suppose that would be up to Hijikata, Kondo, and San'nan. We'll have to wait until they come back to make a decision." Saito said quietly and everyone nodded in agreement.


	3. Seeds of Upheaval Pt 1

**I don't think I have much to say for this chapter except the third picture will make more sense later on and I have decided to use Navajo religion for this story (here's a link if you wanna know more about it: /World_Religions/Ancient_religions/North_america/navajo_ ), just leave a comment if you wish to have something clarified. And thank you Scintilla of Myself for reviewing the last chapter(:**

 **P.S. There's a picture of the atlatl on my Wattpad account (LaurelMeyers)(you'll understand by the end of the chapter)**

 **Enjoy reading!(:**

Part 1

January 1864

It was night and Nakoma sat quietly on the edge of her tribe's village. She watched the forest silently as she remembered the children she took with her to the forest earlier that day. It always brightened her spirits to hear the children run around and giggle in glee because of something she did. She sighed and scanned the forest again. The night was quiet and peaceful, but something didn't feel right.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, looking for guidance for her confusion. Suddenly, there was a noise and she opened her eyes in a flash. Nakoma heard the noises of a bird and she looked up, with a gasp she jumped up from her sitting position. There sat a pheasant on the low branch of the nearest tree.

"Warning and concealment," she breathed out and her head quickly whipped to the left and then to the right. "A warning for what? Why do I have this bad feeling?" She wasn't quite sure what to do, the night was peaceful it seemed like nothing could happen on a night like this.

Then she heard it. A loud bang came from behind her and she jumped before whipping around, her hand flying to her tomahawk. There was another bang, followed by a scream and Nakoma started-

Nakoma woke up with a gasp. She placed a hand on her chest over her heart and she wiped her sweaty forehead with the other. Out of all the nightmares she had been having since that night, this one was always the worst, it always forced her to remember all the pain and guilt she felt that night. Thankfully she woke before the worst of it really began.

She quietly got up and glanced around the room for her haori. The day before Kondo thankfully found a room for her that also wasn't too far away from the girls. She would not have to worry about waking them because of her nightmares anymore. She tightly tied her haori before quietly sliding the door. She smiled as she heard the birds and saw the oranges, reds, and pinks of the morning sky.

"I guess Sano-san was right." Someone said and she jumped slightly before looking over to her right. There sat Shinpachi, his blue haori still on and something on the ground next to him that she couldn't quite see.

"About what?" Nakoma asked as she quietly sat down in front of the door as she usually did. She tried to hide the fact that she was thrown off once again by someone other than Hajime being there, waiting for her to wake up.

"He warned me that you were quite the early riser, I guess I just didn't think he meant this early." He said with a chuckle and Nakoma gave him a light smile before turning to sit in her usual position, eyes closed. A comfortable silence surrounded them for a few moments.

Nakoma was grateful for the silence because she was still shaken up a bit from her nightmare and she now had the chance to calm down. She hoped that it was not obvious just how shaken up she was a moment ago. The other morning Hajime mentioned that he knew about her nightmares, but she was glad he did not say it outright. She was not surprised that he figured it out, he was very perceptive, and she believed that he knew not to push the subject too. But she was afraid if anyone else figured out about her nightmares they wouldn't be as perceptive as Hajime.

"Where is Hajime?" Nakoma asked curiously, the time when Harada watched over her she didn't think to ask, but now in the silence her curiosity was peaked. Shinpachi raised an eyebrow and Nakoma thought she saw a look of irritation pass through his eyes, but she figured she must have just seen wrong.

"Hajime?" Shinpachi asked and Nakoma shrugged, giving him a quick smile before looking at the sky again.

"Normally it's Hajime who has to watch me at this time and since I wake up at this time we talk sometimes. I was just curious where he was." She said with another shrug and Shinpachi watched her for a moment before smiling.

"Sometimes he has to be the one to take patrols at this time," He said and she nodded with a smile, she guessed it was something like that. It was silent again for a few more minutes before Shinpachi cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So I—I found—here." He stuttered and Nakoma tried not to chuckle. His cheeks were a light pink and he scratched the back of his head before handing her a package with a grin. Nakoma immediately grabbed it with a wide smile, knowing exactly what he found.

"Oh thank you Shinpachi-san!" She smiled at him before looking down at the knives. It had been so long since she was able to carve anything and she was excited to be able to do so again. It was a very relaxing pastime for her.

"It was nothing; they weren't too hard to find." He said with a small awkward chuckle and his cheeks became a little darker.

"I haven't been able to carve anything for a long time." She said with a soft smile on her face, tracing one of carving knives delicately. "I used to carve little animals and other things for the children in my tribe, it would always make them so happy that I just kept doing it. Eventually it became a relaxing pastime that I did for more than just the children. This really does mean a lot, thank you."

"Oh, well, I—no problem," Shinpachi managed to get out as his cheeks got even darker. He couldn't help but feel some form of accomplishment for getting the knives, they really weren't too hard to find, but he had never seen that smile on her face before. When he did though, he felt his stomach tighten slightly and there was a slight pang in his chest. Sure, he may not be the smoothest talker when it came to women, certainly nothing like Harada, but he never felt nervous around them before.

"Now I just need to find the right sized piece of wood and hopefully it won't take me too long to make it." She said before standing up and going into her room for a moment to put away the knives. Once she came out she was surprised to see pieces of wood varying in size and type.

"I wasn't sure what exactly you needed, but I hope one of these works." Nakoma could not help the big smile that grew on her face and the light laugh somehow made its way past her lips. Shinpachi looked confused for a moment and she calmly made her way over to him. Nakoma leaned down and gave Shinpachi a quick, tight hug.

"Thank you Shinpachi-san, you really didn't need to do so much." She said, a light blush dusting her cheeks. There was a warmth in her chest, a warmth she recognized, one that she had before. She quickly sat down, a bit further from him before and began to inspect the pieces of wood Shinpachi collected for her. Nakoma liked the warmth she felt, but at the same she had to admit that she was scared and because of that she wasn't quite she was ready to feel that again.

It was dinner the next evening and it was just as rowdy as every other dinner the three girls had with the Shinsengumi. Nakoma had made the habit of some nights sitting with Saito and other nights sitting with Shinpachi, Harada, and Heisuke. Ayana and Chizuru spent most nights sitting next to the three and Nakoma was happy to see that the three always managed to cheer them up in some way.

"So your..." Saito trailed off softly as he tried to remember what Nakoma had called her sword.

"Macahuitl," she supplied for him and he nodded once.

"Yes, you did not learn how to use it until later?" Saito found this odd, he had been learning how to use his swords his whole life. He couldn't imagine using much else.

"Yes," Nakoma said with a small smile, she had these conversations with Ayana many times before. While Chizuru was the girly girl, Ayana was quite the tomboy and could, if need be, protect herself. "I was taught since I was child that my best weapon should be my own body. The other weapons are only there to help me, but are not necessary for a fight. The first weapon I learned to use was the bow and arrow because of it's versatility. I can use it to survive by hunting and I could use it as a weapon in a fight. At the same time, I began to learn how to use my tomahawk. When I got older was taught how to use the dagger as a weapon, not just as a tool, and that was when I began to learn how to use the macahuitl as well." Saito remained quiet as he thought over what she said and Nakoma began to chuckle as Heisuke and Shinpachi began fighting.

"Shinpatsu-san, I'll take that!" Heisuke said, suddenly he reached over and grabbed a piece of food off of Shinpachi's plate.

"I was gonna save that for last!" Shinpachi whined and Nakoma smiled at Saito when she saw him roll his eyes. She had learned that many people thought Hajime as something close to a statue, but she noticed if you watched closely enough he had quite the array of emotions. They continued to bicker with each other until Inoue finally had enough and began to scold them thoroughly.

"Do they remind you of someone?" Hajime asked quietly and Nakoma turned her head sharply towards him.

"What do you mean?" Nakoma asked, a nervous smile on her face.

"When you smile at them...it looks as if you are remembering something." He said awkwardly, he would admit he was not the best at talking with people, but he had slowly come to get to know the woman sitting next to him more and more. He was curious to know more about her past, if she would let him at least.

"I suppose you caught me." Nakoma said with a sigh and a somewhat guilty smile. "My tribe, when we ate, we would all eat together and I remember the children, usually the older ones, would bicker and play until one of us would go to scold them." She began to chuckle and her smile grew wider. "Believe it or not, I was titled a troublemaker in my tribe, even as an adult." A mischievous look came over her face, but it soon turned to surprise when Saito gave her a small smile and began to laugh. It was not very loud, but apparently it was loud enough for everyone to hear and soon the room went silent for a few moments as everyone stared at Hajime Saito in shock.

"I am not sure I can picture that." Saito mumbled to her, a bright blush on his face, and quickly looked down at his food again. Nakoma went back to food as well, waiting patiently for everyone to go back to what they were doing before. It didn't take too much longer before the quiet sounds of everyone having their own conversations came back around and Nakoma glanced at Saito.

"I understand, I'm not quite the same as I used to be." Nakoma said quietly, trying not to bring anymore attention to Hajime and her.

"I understand," he said with a nod, he wanted to know more, but he had feeling that he would be pushing it if he asked anymore. Many mornings he heard her in her room before she woke up and saw how she looked when she finally came outside. He knew she was having nightmares and he had a pretty good guess that they had something to do with where she was before she was brought here.

Suddenly the door slid open and everyone went silent again. Hijikata stood in the door entrance and took a glance around the room, his face not giving away anything which was not uncommon.

"I'm back," he said shortly and walked into the room. San'nan walked in shortly after him and Nakoma could feel as the room became tense and awkward. No one was sure what to say to San'nan or how he was feeling.

"Hijikata-san," Okita said cheerfully, anything to break the silence that was suffocating the room. Hijikata nodded shortly and took his place next to Kondo. San'nan's arm is was in a sling and wrapped heavily. He came in with a smile on his face, but it looked tight and false.

"Vice-Commander, Deputy-Commander, excellent work." Saito said calmly with a nod of his head.

"Welcome back San'nan-San," Okita was quick to greet San'nan next and Nakoma held her breath as she waited for his response.

"I have returned." He said and everyone tried to force a small smile on their face for him.

"Yes, Saito is right, you did good work." Kondo said while nodding, Nakoma could see he was trying to find the right thing to say. "How is the wound on your arm?"

"As you can see I suffered a defeat." San'nan said calmly, the tight smile still on his face. "It's alright. It's not as bad as it looks, so please, don't worry." He said quickly before he began turning towards the door. "Excuse me."

"San'nan-san! What about dinner?!" Heisuke asked him, trying to find some way to bring San'nan back. San'nan paused in the doorway, but did not turn to face everyone else.

"That's fine," he said quietly. "I'm somewhat tired so I'll just go to my room." He shut the door after that and the room fell silent once again. Nakoma looked down at her food, she suddenly didn't feel as hungry as she was before and she thought about leaving.

"What are you three doing here?" Hijikata asked suddenly and Nakoma's head shot up. He was glaring at each of them in turn. While Nakoma remained calm and her face expressionless, Ayana and Chizuru couldn't help but blush and look down at their trays. "Who allowed you three to come eat in here instead of your rooms?" He demanded and his glare turned back to Nakoma. He may be the 'demon vice-commander', but Nakoma wouldn't allow him to push her around and scare her, it wouldn't work.

"Uh Toshi," Kondo began nervously, glancing between Nakoma and Hijikata. Hijikata may be able to use fear to get the Yukimura sisters to do what he needed them to do, but he didn't think it would go quite the same way with Nakoma and he didn't wish to see how that would end. "I sort of..."

"I invited them." Heisuke cut off Kondo and looked at Hijikata with confidence.

"No, it was me." Shinpachi said right after Heisuke and Nakoma narrowed her eyes at the two. She knew what they were up to and while it was appreciated, it was unnecessary, she didn't want them to get into any trouble.

"I was the one who..." Inoue began, but Sano was quick to cut in.

"It was me who said it."

"You all..." Hijikata frowned and Nakoma knew he caught on to the same thing she did. "How reckless."

"Where's the harm?" Heisuke asked casually. "They promised they wouldn't escape and haven't tried to since they got here."

"It's only been a couple of weeks." Hijikata said sternly, glancing at Nakoma. She understood that it wasn't Ayana and Chizuru that he was necessarily worried about, it was her. While she understood why he would feel that way, she couldn't help but feel a little hurt.

"Please, you should let the girls stay, they need the interaction. If you are worried about me I will return to my room." She sighed softly and began to stand. Nakoma nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her arm, she looked down to see that it was Hajime that stopped her ascent. She relaxed herself back down onto the floor as Saito looked at Hijikata.

"She should be allowed to stay and eat as well. I have been watching her door nearly every night since they have arrived and she has not done anything untrustworthy. She has been more helpful then anything else." Nakoma felt her cheeks warm slightly at his words and she looked down at her hands. A few days ago she heard some of the soldiers having issues breathing because of a cold, some of the captains as well. One morning she brought out some herbs that she had collected on the journey to Kyoto. She told Hajime what they were and their uses, she gave him some to burn in their rooms to clear their airways and some that could be put in a tea to help their immune systems get stronger. Nakoma gave him a quick nod of thanks and Saito gave her a small smile.

"Toshi, come on." Kondo said when Hijikata remained silent after Saito's statement. "Can't we at least give them permission to eat here, after all, Hajime-san is right, they have been helpful."

"Kondo-san." Hijikata said, sighing. "If you're that naïve, the group's leadership will fall into disarray." Nakoma suddenly stood, she was done with her food and she didn't care to listen to him any longer.

"Trust can only begin if both sides participate. You cannot expect us to do things to earn your trust and then not give us any." She said calmly, staring straight at Hijikata before turning away from him. "You may have the rest of my food if you'd like." She said shortly to Heisuke and Shinpachi who were staring at her in surprise. She calmly walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

Soon after she left everyone else she returned to her room and immediately grabbed the block of wood she wanted to use for Harada's piece. She quietly sat down on the porch outside her door and began to work in the fading sunlight. She began the carving the night before, but she only got the basic first steps done.

It was peaceful outside and she sighed as she listened to the birds sing to each other in the tree before her. She did not mean to be so rude in leaving, but it angered her to see how much he distrusted her. She knew he was not in the wrong to feel that way, she was a warrior and a skilled one, she was dangerous. She dealt with this feeling before, that look Hijikata had given her, but on others faces. She wasn't sure why this time was quite so different, perhaps because she did not care what strangers thought of her. But she wanted, needed, Hijikata to trust her.

"Only to eat," Nakoma jumped, then hissed when the knife slipped off the wood and sliced her thumb. She glanced at her thumb and then looked up to see Hijikata standing there. Nakoma gave him a slightly irritated look before she gently placed the block of wood on the porch. She quickly stood and headed into her room.

"You may come in." She said shortly before Hijikata even had the chance to ask. She heard his light steps enter the room as she grabbed a premade paste she made before their trip to Kyoto. She grabbed a clean cloth that was sitting on the table in her room before turning to face Hijikata.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said earnestly and she nodded once before looking down at the cloth she was holding against her thumb.

"What did you say a moment ago?" She asked calmly as she wiped the irritated look off her face.

"You and the Yukimura sisters are allowed to come out of yours room to eat, but only to eat." He said and Nakoma nodded slowly. "You were right; you cannot gain our trust if we do not give you the chance to do so."

"You mean your trust?" Nakoma asked calmly with an eyebrow raised and Hijikata sighed with his eyes closed but said nothing. She gently pulled the cloth away and opened the lid of the paste before smudging a thin line across the small cut. They remained quiet for a few moments longer before Nakoma silently held out the jar of paste to him.

"What is this?" He asked shortly and she smiled.

"Please give it to San'nan-san. He doesn't have to use it, but I wanted to offer it to him anyways. It will help heal his injuries and it will also help in the long run for the recovery of the use of his arm. If he would like to use it, please tell him to put it on at least once in the morning and once before bed." Hijikata stared at the jar a moment longer before gently taking it.

"Thank you, I'm sure San'nan-san will appreciate it. Are you sure you want to give all of this away?" Nakoma crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged.

"It's a simple paste to make and I could easily find the herbs again if you would allow me to go out into the woods."

"Why not just go to the market?" Hijikata asked with a confused expression and Nakoma chuckled.

"Because I am used to living off the land and not going to the market I suppose, force of habit. Besides, the herbs they sell in the market aren't always as fresh as they should be." She gave him one last smile before heading back to her spot and picking up the wooden block once more. Hijikata stared at her for a moment, not quite sure what to do. It had been a long time since he had a stranger stand up against him so easily and in such a polite manner too. He slowly walked out of her room before stopping beside her and sitting down. He could see the slight smile growing on her face but he chose to ignore it and instead decide to look at what she was working on.

They did not say much more after that, but Nakoma assumed that, like Hajime, Hijikata was a man of few words. She did not mind really; it gave her time to work on her wood carving in peace. It wasn't until Heisuke showed up to watch her that he got up and left. It was then that she realized that instead of chastising her for sitting outside with no one watching her, he was allowing her to sit outside by watching over her until the next person came. She smiled gently at his back as it turned the corner before turning that smile to Heisuke.

A few mornings later Nakoma walked quietly with Saito to the common room to eat breakfast. They had spent the earlier morning in silence and Nakoma found that a bit strange. It was true Hajime did not talk much, but he usually said at least a few words to her when she came out in the morning. She wasn't sure though if she should ask him about it or not.

"Are you alright?" Nakoma asked after she had made up her mind. Hajime glanced at her for a second before giving a quick shrug.

"If you did not notice, San'nan-san has not been coming to meals or eating very much." Was all he said and Nakoma sighed before nodding.

"It is difficult to go through losing the ability to be able to fight." She began and they paused before the common room door, turning to face each other. "To not be able to protect the ones you love and the innocent people around you is...not like any other feeling."

"You sound as if you have experienced this before?" Saito asked cautiously, he didn't want to upset her by asking too much. She smiled when she heard the caution in his voice, his thoughtfulness was kind.

"Yes, when I was younger, I was hiding in a tree while hunting. I was careless and lost my balance. I broke my arm when I landed on the forest floor. I almost lost the ability to use that arm, but I was determined and worked hard to rebuild the strength. I got lucky." She said solemnly, but then smiled. Of course there were other times when she felt that way that were much worse, but she didn't think she was ready to tell him about those yet. "Have faith Hajime, San'nan-san is strong, he just needs time."

Saito nodded with a slight smile. She hoped it made him feel better at least a little, he was much wiser than most his age and she was impressed with him. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"For future reference, do not be afraid to ask me something. I will not get upset with you, I will just simply tell you I don't want to answer it. I appreciate your thoughtfulness though." Saito gave her a quick nod before they both turned and entered the room.

Nakoma sat in between Shinpachi and Chizuru with Ayana on Shinpachi's other side. Nakoma started to notice with amusement that Ayana had begun sitting with Heisuke during meal times and they would make plan of attacks together to steal Shinpachi's food.

"She likes to attack from the back, she's better at the element of surprise." Nakoma told Shinpachi quietly with a sly smile on her face. Shinpachi looked confused momentarily before recognition flashed in his eyes and he grinned widely.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said cryptically with a wink and Nakoma chuckled. She frowned though when she noticed Chizuru looked sad. She placed her arm around Chizuru and she leaned into Nakoma.

"What's wrong, my little Dibe?" Nakoma asked, her brow furrowed in worry.

"Oh, I think San'nan-san is upset with me now!" She said with a hopeless tone as she fiddled with her sleeve. "He wouldn't eat the food I brought for him." Nakoma smiled at the girl, she tried so hard sometimes. She smoothed the bangs from Chizuru's face and hugged her gently.

"It's not you, little Dibe, I'm sure he appreciated the food you brought for him, it will just take a little time for him to feel better is all." Chizuru nodded slowly. Nakoma blushed slightly when she glanced up and saw Harada grinning at her. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment when the door slid open. They all turned to see San'nan-san standing at the entrance of the door. "See Dibe, your kind thought cheered him up enough to come eat with us." Chizuru smiled brightly at her and immediately left her embrace to begin eating her breakfast.

Nakoma turned when she heard Shinpachi chuckling. He gave her a gentle smile and she shoved him lightly. Shinpachi's chuckle turned into laugh which then suddenly became a yelp as an arm appeared from behind his shoulder and grabbed some food off his plate.

"Oi!" Shinpachi cried out in shock as Ayana had a grin of triumph on her face.

"I did it Heisuke!" She cheered as she placed the food on his plate. Shinpachi narrowed his eyes at the young girl as Nakoma began to laugh at him instead.

"I did try to warn you Shinpachi-san." She said and Shinpachi narrowed his eyes at her instead before shoving her lightly in return.

May 1864

Nakoma smiled in triumph as she blew the final wood shavings off the newly finished atlatl. She placed the carving knife down and gently wiped it off with her hand. She felt a presence looming near her and she turned her head.

"What are you doing Shinpachi-san?" She asked in amusement. It was one of those rare mornings where someone other than Hajime was standing outside her door.

"Well you finished it right? I wanna see!" He said excitedly and she quickly leaned away from his grabby hands. She smiled as he tried to lean even farther forward.

"Hey, watch those hands!" She cried out with a laugh and let out a noise of surprise when the atlatl was gone from her hands.

"What is it?" Shinpachi asked in confusion, the excitement gone from his face. Nakoma smiled and adjusted it in his hands so he was holding it the right way.

"It is called an atlatl," she said and took one of his hands away from it. For someone who didn't know what it was it would seem like an extremely smooth stick or something similar. She then turned it in his hand when she noticed the hollowed out cup in it was facing the wrong way. "It is to help aid you in throwing your spear. I do not know if Harada does very much spear throwing but it is always nice to have."

"Either way I think he'll like it a lot." Shinpachi said with a grin, though he admitted quietly to himself that he couldn't help but feel jealously that she spent so much time making something for someone else and not him. "What are these symbols?" He noticed that there were carvings of some animals on the side and ran his thumb gently against them.

"That one is the bear, he symbolizes strength and he is a protector." Shinpachi felt his face begin to get warm and his heart started beating faster as Nakoma leaned closer to him. Her arm hovered over his lap as she pointed to the first symbol. "That is the mountain lion, we use this symbol for power, leadership, and swiftness and the last is the eagle, he is used in the hopes he will give the warrior courage." She smiled at him and gently took the atlatl out of his hand. She stood up and went into her room for a moment before she came back out, the atlatl now wrapped in cloth.

"He'll appreciate it even if he won't be able to use it." He reassured and she smiled.

"You think so?" She asked softly and he nodded quickly. She quickly sat back down next to him and closed her eyes as she listened to the birds. The headquarters were a peaceful, quiet place in the morning and she was thankful for it. "Thank you again, I wouldn't have been to make this without you."

"I only got the stuff for you, you did all the hard work." He said with an easy smile and she grinned.

"That may be true, but even the smallest contributions are still important." She gave him a quick hug before standing. "Now shall we go get something to eat?"

It was the early afternoon and it was a beautiful day. Nakoma sat with Ayana, Hajime, Chizuru, Okita, and Harada in the courtyard. Chizuru and Ayana were washing clothes together while Hajime was practicing with his sword and Okita was hanging out lazily on the stairs.

"You carved this?" Harada asked in amazement as he studied the wood carving Nakoma gave him.

"It's called an atlatl, it's for spear throwers." She said as Harada continued to study it. After another moment he tried to give it back to her. Nakoma began to laugh lightly and pushed it back towards him. "It's yours. I carved it for you." She said kindly and Harada looked at her in shock before an excited grin grew on his face.

"Really?! What do I do with it?" He asked and she began chuckling again. She adjusted it in his hand so he was holding it correctly.

"You balance the butt of the spear here," she began, pointing to the hollowed out cup. "And then you swing the atlatl forward. It helps to make your spear go much faster and farther than if you were to do it with just your arms. I can show you sometime if you'd like."

"Yeah, definitely!" He said enthusiastically. "What do these symbols mean?" She then went on to explain each of the symbols. "Truly Nakoma, this is great, thank you." He said with a grin and she returned it.

"Of course Sano-san," she said before standing up. "Like I said, the spear is an important weapon in my culture, any self-respecting spear wielder has one." She winked at him before turning and walking over to Chizuru and Ayana. She could see that Chizuru was nervously talking to Hajime about something and she was curious.

"I thought maybe we could get around to looking for my father..." Chizuru trailed off nervously and Ayana was listening intently behind her.

"Not possible," Hajime said immediately as he continued to practice with his sword. "There are many out there who would do us harm. We don't have enough men to provide you protection as well." Chizuru sighed sadly and I was about to speak up but Okita cut me off before I had the chance.

"You could always come with us as we go out on rounds though." He said with a lazy smirk and Nakoma narrowed her eyes at him.

"Oh, could we come, please?!" Ayana jumped up excitedly and soon both girls were standing in front of Okita.

"But, doing rounds is life or death, screw up and one of our own dies. Unless you can vouch for your own safety, we can't take you with us." He said, his smirk growing even larger.

"I can go," I quickly interjected. "I can watch over them and keep them safe, all you would have to do is keep an eye on us."

"But then you could easily escape." He argued and Nakoma rolled her eyes.

"Then only one will go with me at a time and the other will stay here, I wouldn't try to leave without both."

"She has a point," Hajime interjected calmly and Okita glared at me.

"Well how do we know you have any fighting skill?" He asked, the smirk back on his face.

"You saw me on the first night you met me."

"You could have just gotten lucky." Nakoma nearly growled in frustration.

"Fine, get up and I'll prove it to you." She challenged and he began to laugh.

"I wouldn't wanna mar your pretty face." He said and Nakoma only smirked.

"Hmm, I've never known a true warrior to back down from a challenge." Her smirk grew as Okita stopped laughing and glared at her. The other four were now watching the two nervously.

"Fine," he said gruffly before standing up and heading towards the middle of the courtyard.

"Nakoma, I'm not sure if this is..." Harada trailed off as Nakoma held a hand up to him, but she kept her eyes on Okita. He was over confident and that would be his downfall, most samurai here did not fair as well against her because they had never experienced the way she learned to fight.

"Well, are you going to get out your sword?" Okita asked as he pulled out his own. Nakoma merely smiled and got into a light fighting stance. She knew Okita was fast, she had seen him practice before. Therefore, she would have to remain loose and light on her feet.

"I'm not sure I like where this is going." Harada muttered to Hajime who gave a quick nod in return, they knew Okita could be ruthless and they had yet to see Nakoma fight yet.

"Go Nakoma!" Ayana cheered and smirked at Harada and Saito. "Don't worry, I think you'll be surprised."

Okita shrugged when Nakoma made no movement to get out her sword. If she wanted to be idiot that was fine, it would only make it easier for him. He smirked before he began charging full force at her. She merely stood still and waited patiently for him to reach her. As soon as she saw his arm begin to move for his strike, she dropped and then stood up again as he flew past her. She lightly kicked him in the back, causing him to stumble forward a little bit.

"Charging like an angry bull at your opponent does not always give you the upper hand Okita-san." Nakoma said calmly, but the smirk remained on her face as Okita swiftly turned and glared at her. He soon came at her again, but more cautiously this time, she had to admit he was a quick learner.

This time he swung his sword lower, closer to her abdomen so she would not be able to dropped down so easily. This was where he was mistaken. She quickly ran towards him before dropping into a slide. She saw the look of surprise on his face before she caught his ankle with her hand causing him to fall forward. She rolled back up so she was standing and looking down at him.

"Still think I can't fight Okita-san?" She asked and he growled at her before jumping up as well.

"Fine, two can play at that game." He glared at her before he removed both of his swords and quickly handed them to Harada. Sanosuke still wasn't sure if he should feel worried or amused. Ayana on the other hand had been quietly giggling with Chizuru for the past few minutes.

Nakoma got in her loose fighting stance again and waited patiently to see what he would do next. Okita was impatient, he would always end up making the first move if you waited long enough, and that was never very long. Soon, Okita came charging at her and she quickly sidestepped his first punch. She smacked the back of his head before pushing him forward.

"You're too impatient Okita-san, that won't help you any in hand to hand combat." Nakoma clipped as Okita whipped around to glare at her. After a moment he relaxed his posture and stood straight.

"Fine, give me your best shot, no more teasing." He said with a smug smirk. She almost wanted to laugh, he didn't think she could actually hurt him. She merely stood there for a few moments until Okita opened his mouth to taunt her some more.

That was when she took off. She came at him at full speed and gave him a light punch in the stomach. His hands involuntarily flew down to protect stomach as she quickly swung around behind him, jumped up, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, the other grabbing her dagger. She forced him to go down with her as she wrapped her arms around him. They landed with a thud, he was face down on the ground with her straddling his back, both were breathing hard and Nakoma smirked when her dagger lightly touched his throat.

"What were you saying Okita-san?" She asked breathlessly. "I believe you let your guard down." She quickly jumped off of him and placed her dagger back in it's place. She then turned towards Hajime.

"Well now that I've proved I'm capable, I would appreciate it if you could talk to Hijikata-san about my proposal." She said politely and smiled slightly when she saw the smile disappear from Saito's face.

"Of course, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to see how well they can defend themselves as well, just in case." He asked, referring to Ayana and Chizuru, and Nakoma gave him a full smile.

"Of course Hajime, I trust you." She said and patted his shoulder lightly before walking off to go see if Shinpachi and Heisuke had returned from their patrols yet.

"Dammit." Okita muttered, snatching his swords from Harada as Sanosuke laughed heartily at him.

"Perhaps you should have listened to her." He said with a shit eating grin. Okita merely glared at him before stomping off causing Harada to begin laughing once more.


	4. Seeds of Upheaval Pt 2

**Hello all! This is the next chapter! Please note for this chapter:**

 **War paint and face paint in general was used in Native American culture: red symbolizes war, blood, strength, energy, power, and success. Black symbolizes strength and worn to prepare for war. It can also mean that the wearer has proven themselves as a powerful warrior in battle, it can also mean victory. The two black stripes Nakoma puts on her face symbolize that she was the marshal of a war party.**

 **NyaPowa: Thank you for commenting! I really appreciate it!(: First, I just want to make sure you understand that Nakoma is** ** _not_** **supposed to be Pocahontas's best friend in this story, that is only where I got the name from. Second, I do agree she does come off as calm, emotionless, etc. but this is meant as a front per say, she's gotten very good at hiding what she's truly thinking, but I'm trying to show it as slowly melting away to her more true character. Her past experiences in Japan have caused her to become more closed off and hidden. About the age, I believe it's chapter two in the author's note that I list the ages that I've decided for most of the characters. About knowing the customs and such very well, I've decided to work off the fact that there is difference between just learning a country's language and customs and being forced to learn a country's language and customs, when you're forced to learn these things in order to have a better chance of survival the brain catches on a bit quicker. This may also be a fault on my end, it's unfortunate that I don't know Japanese language and culture very well (not my specialty sadly haha) and I'm trying to learn more, but if it comes off as she knows the language very well or something it might just be a mistake that I didn't know I made, I'm sorry about that! I try to make some differences to show she may know something of the culture but isn't used to it or doesn't follow it (such as not using honorifics very often when referring or talking to someone). I hope this helps and thank you for reading!(:**

 **Scintilla of Myself: Haha I think he would be too!(: and thanks about the spear comment! Yes, the Native American names I use will probably be from different tribes, this was a problem I ran into where I couldn't find all the right names I wanted to use in just one tribe so after thinking about it for a while I just decided that I may have to pull from different tribes to get things done, but I want to try to use the Navajo tribe as much as possible! You might just have to bare with me on that end, I hope that's okay! And I know, I love Nakoma and Saito's relationship too! Haha**

 **Enjoy!**

It was a day later when Nakoma, Ayana, Chizuru, Okita, and Heisuke all went to go and meet with Hijikata. Ayana and Chizuru sat on either side of Nakoma with nervous looks on their faces.

"I grant you permission to go outdoors." Hijikata said shortly and immediately the Yukimura sisters' faces lit up. Nakoma's face remained passive, she had a feeling there was more than just that.

"Oh thank you!" Ayana cried out excitedly with Chizuru nodding along with her.

"You will be going with one of the officers as they patrol the city. Nakoma will be your guard and only _one_ of you will go at a time. If you fail to do _anything_ the commanding officer tells you to do, you will be stuck in your room again." Hijikata said with stern glare on his face, but it didn't seem to scare the girls too much this time, they were still too excited.

"He's right, if you don't listen to whichever captain we are with or me I will ask Hijikata-san myself to keep you locked in your room." Nakoma said sternly, an eyebrow raised and the girls paused for a moment in their excitement to nod at Nakoma.

"Of course, thank you Hijikata-san." Chizuru said with a small bow of her head.

"Souji, Heisuke, you're on patrol today, yes?" Hijikata asked, turning to look at Okita and Heisuke.

"I'm ditching them if we encounter rogue samurai, okay?" Okita said with a teasing smirk and Nakoma looked at him briefly.

"I believe I've proved that wouldn't be an issue, yes?" She asked calmly, but there was no hiding the small smirk that flashed on her face. Okita glared at her before crossing his arms and looking away. Heisuke and Hijikata looked between the two in confusion for a moment as Ayana covered her mouth to keep from giggling.

"Nakoma," Hijikata said after deciding he didn't care to know with a sigh. "The Choshu are acting up. Normally, I wouldn't let you guys leave when it's like this outside the headquarters, but I trust that you could handle anyone who tries to attack one of them." Nakoma gave him a quick nod, a small smile appearing on her face, she felt relief that Hijikata was finally at least giving her a little trust. "Also, we have received word that someone who looks like Koudou-san has been seen."

"Father?" Chizuru asked as the girls grew excited again as Nakoma smiled at the two. She wanted to stop their excitement, she didn't want them to get their hopes so high, but it had been so long since they last had a chance to do anything in the search of their father that she didn't have the heart to stop them. Hijikata gave them a nod before sighing.

"Yes and making you stay here will doing nothing for your search to find your father." Nakoma thought Hijikata looked even more stressed at the thought of letting those two out, she couldn't blame him really though, those two were trouble magnets.

It was not too long after that Nakoma and Chizuru set off with Okita's patrol group. They walked in the front of the group with Okita and Nakoma saw him smirk at her.

"I will admit; you are a skilled fighter." Okita said to Nakoma who glanced at him before returning her gaze to Chizuru who would go off to the side every once and while to ask if anybody had seen her father.

"As are you." She said shortly, but gave him a small smile to show that she was sincere.

"You sure I'm not too impatient for yah?" He asked with a laugh and Nakoma began to chuckle.

"No, I was like that as well once, I just didn't have option to remain that way. It was rare for us to fight with much more than the spear, tomahawk, and bow and arrow." She looked down briefly before looking at him. "It wasn't until the British, my people called them the White Man, started invading our lands that we began using other weapons as well rather than just training with them." Okita remained silent, as Nakoma fidgeted for a moment and returned her gaze to Chizuru as she came running back up to them.

"That makes a bit more sense." He agreed and continued to march forward. "But why tease me?" He asked giving her a mock glare and she laughed this time.

"You remind me of the young warriors from my tribe sometimes." She said with a nostalgic look in her eyes. "As one of the older warriors it was my duty to teach them lessons. It was not uncommon for them to become bigheaded and that was how I taught them humiliation." She said and gave a light shrug when Okita raised an eyebrow. "It was better for them to learn then, in the safety of our village, rather than in the battlefield or out in the woods." She grimaced silently, the consequences she had to go through for her own ego while out hunting passing through her head.

"Chizuru!" Okita suddenly called out and Nakoma snapped her head up. She almost groaned when she saw Chizuru taking off alone. She started walking that way with Okita following her when they both halted to a stop.

"Bastard, I dare you to say that again!" They heard someone yell out and they both turned to see Okita's officers about to get into a fight with some Choshu men.

"Go, I'll bring Chizuru back here." Nakoma said quickly and she saw Okita hesitate, glancing between her and his men. "Okita-san, I promise." She said earnestly. He held off for one more second before taking off toward his men.

Nakoma quickly took off after Chizuru just as she turned the corner down an alleyway of shop entrances. _I'm going to kill that girl when we get back._ Nakoma thought with a huff as she finally caught up with Chizuru just as she was about to enter a shop.

"Chizuru!" She called out and Chizuru paused.

"I'm sorry, a man said they saw father in here earlier!" She said excitedly, but wilted slightly when she saw the glare Nakoma was giving her. Nakoma then sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go then, quickly." She lightly pushed Chizuru into the shop, not noticing the two men watching them closely.

"Excuse me," Chizuru said to the shop owner, who looked up at her.

"Yes?" He asked, looking a bit taken a back when he saw Nakoma standing behind her. A stern look was on her face as her eyes roamed around the shop.

"Those two!" A man suddenly cried out. "They were with the Shinsengumi!" He said with a glare and Nakoma tensed up as she glared at him. Then, with a war cry, he pulled out his katana and came charging at them.

"Don't be a fool!" One of his friends called out behind him. Nakoma quickly pushed Chizuru behind her, accidentally pushing her too hard. With a cry Chizuru landed on her butt and involuntarily flinched when she saw the man's sword raised high. But Nakoma was quicker, she pulled out her sword and smacked the man's hand with wooden part of her sword before swinging it up, stopping it just before it pierced his neck. The man cried out and grabbed his hand, dropping his sword in the process.

"Perhaps you should have listened to your friends," she growled, the expression on her face was dark and the man gulped. She didn't see Okita run in, his men right behind him. He stood there stunned for a moment, he had never seen that look on Nakoma's face before, even on that night that he first met her.

"Nakoma!" He called out sternly just as Nakoma was about to kill the man. She stopped immediately and relaxed her position, her arm dropping to her side. She turned to look at Okita, her face had become passive again. "Take Chizuru outside, we'll take care of the rest of this." She nodded once and Okita turned to look at Chizuru. "Nakoma was right, you really are a trouble magnet." He said with a chuckle before turning to look at the man Nakoma was about to kill.

Nakoma quickly snatched up Chizuru's arm and practically dragged her out of the shop. Chizuru bit her lip and tried to follow after Nakoma as best as she could. Nakoma stopped once they were safely outside of the crowd.

"Are you alright?" She asked, a hand on each shoulder. Chizuru nodded and Nakoma glared at her before smacking the back of her head lightly.

"Ow!" Chizuru grabbed the back of her head and glared back at her.

"What the hell were you thinking?! What if I wasn't able to have caught up with you? You would have been killed!" Nakoma scolded and Chizuru sighed, looking down at her feet.

"You're right, I'm sorry, I just got excited when I finally found someone who said they saw someone who looked like father." She said sadly and Nakoma sighed again. She gave her a quick hug and shook her head.

"You need to be smarter Chizuru, I'm glad you are safe." Nakoma said and turned to the sounds of people fighting. "We'll talk more about this when we get back to the headquarters.

It was later that they were back at headquarters. Nakoma kneeled next to Okita and Chizuru in front of San'nan and Kondo. They had made it back to headquarters with the man that Nakoma had almost killed. Okita claimed that the man had information for them and she didn't question it.

"That's quite the accomplishment." San'nan said calmly, but it was clear that he was not happy about it. "You confiscated the ammunition that had been transported to the shop, and captured Shuntaro Furutaka, Choshu spy and crime boss." Nakoma half expected San'nan to begin sarcastically clapping.

"We really got lucky, huh?" Okita asked with a smirk. Nakoma almost rolled her eyes, sometimes she really wished she could smack him.

"It's no laughing matter." San'nan scolded harshly and looked at each of them in turn. "You received word the shop owner was a Choshu spy, yet you continued to let him be, did you not?"

"You don't think bad about Shimada-kun and Yamazaki-kun?" Heisuke piped up, staring straight at Okita. Nakoma met Shimada and Yamazaki on the way back to headquarters, she learned that Yamazaki was the medic for the Shinsengumi. She promised she would share her knowledge on herbal remedies and help him if necessary. Nakoma also learned that his family were something called acupuncturists and, with a laugh, Yamazaki promised to explain what that meant to her later.

"Please, pay us no mind." Yamazaki said from behind Heisuke and Shinpachi, Shimada sitting next to him.

"We'd kept up our watch over the store, but things were at a standstill. It was thanks to Okita-san and his men that we were able to catch Furutaka." Shimada piped in after Yamazaki.

"In hindsight, that is." San'nan was quick to argue and Nakoma couldn't help but agree silently.

"How admirable of you all." Shinpachi said and glanced at Okita. "In contrast, Souji is…"

"It's my fault!" Chizuru quickly cut off Shinpachi and Nakoma gave her a stern glare. They all knew what Chizuru had done already; there was no reason for her to bring more attention to herself. This wasn't their conversation; they were only there to tell them what they saw and to be scolded.

"Chizuru, hush!" Nakoma scolded and Chizuru glanced at her, but plowed on anyways.

"When I heard my father had been seen, I went to the shop without thinking of the consequences." Chizuru said solemnly as she turned her eyes to look at the floor again.

"The fault for that falls on Nakoma, you were her responsibility." San'nan said sharply, looking straight at Nakoma. She did not cower or shy away, she only nodded and stared right back at him.

"Chizuru would be dead if Nakoma didn't follow after her." Okita immediately argued back and Nakoma glanced at him in surprise, she honestly never thought Okita of all people would stand up for her.

"Then perhaps you are at fault then for not watching the both of them." San'nan countered and Okita merely shrugged.

"No, San'nan-san is right Okita-san." Nakoma said with a sigh. "I should have stayed closer to her so that I could have stopped her from running off." Okita opened his mouth to argue with her, but she sent him a sharp glare that made him close his mouth again. She did not want someone trying to protect her from her mistakes, she was a grown woman and a warrior. She could deal with the consequences of her mistakes, she's done it before and with much bigger consequences.

"I am also responsible." Hijikata announced as he entered the room, glancing at Nakoma momentarily before coming to sit between San'nan and Heisuke. "I gave them permission to leave, so they're not the only ones to blame."

"Hijikata-san, has Furutaka said anything?" Harada asked him quickly, no matter how it happened they still got someone they needed and now he hoped they had some answers.

"They'll set fire to Kyoto on a day the wind is strong, and take the emperor away to Choshu." He stated calmly while everyone in the room looked at him shocked.

"Set fire to Kyoto?" Kondo exclaimed, appalled. Nakoma closed her eyes as she suddenly heard the screams of her people and she swore she could smell the smoke, almost taking her back to that night. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on top of hers that rested on her knee. She glanced over to see Okita looking at her with curiosity and concern. She quickly shook her head and turned away, but she was silently grateful as his hand snapped her out of her memory.

"That just means they'll kidnap the emperor, right?" Heisuke asked. "They talk about revering the emperor, but they don't respect him at all!"

"If they wanna set fire to the city, those Choshu guys have got a screw loose!" Shinpachi exclaimed and Nakoma raised an eyebrow at him.

"The men I met in that shop did not exactly come off as the most pragmatic nor wisest of men. Some of those who wish to have power believe it is easier to mold governments and cities into the way they want them by first tearing them down and weakening them." She stated calmly, pushing away any lasting thoughts of past memories. Hijikata nodded in agreement with her.

"They're panicking now that Furutaka has been captured. They're sure to meet tonight to come up with a course of action." Hijikata stated and many nodded in agreement with him. Suddenly she felt a shiver go down her spine and it felt as if the wind whispered in her ear. She then heard a bird through the window and she turned her head to look out. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw a pheasant sitting on the branch of the tree.

"They're warning me…" She breathed out silently and Okita turned his head to give her a questioning look. She merely gave him a small smile and shook her head, she would not take their warning for granted this time.

"Where would the Choshu hold a meeting?" Kondo asked.

"By what we've seen, I would say either Shikokuya or Ikedaya." Shimada answered and Kondo nodded.

"Alright, send word to the Aizu clan and the Shogun's representative." Kondo said as he stood up. "Toshi, assemble the troops!"

It was silent as Hijikata looked at all the men in formation before him. Nakoma stood next to the captains silently as Ayana and Chizuru stood behind her. There weren't too many men to fight and Nakoma knew even if the Shinsengumi won tonight, it would be a hard win.

"Is this all the men we can mobilize?" Hijikata asked with a sigh, it appeared that he was thinking the same thing as her.

"I'm very sorry, if not for my injury, I could…" San'nan trailed off with a sigh and looked away.

"No, we need you to keep watch over things here," Kondo said kindly, trying to make him feel better.

"Still no movement from Aizu or the representative?" Hijikata asked grimly and Inoue shook his head.

"They won't act without definitive proof, huh?" Hijikata asked with an irritated growl. Nakoma silently sent a prayer out for their safety. She was beginning to wish that she would have finished the wood carving that she decided to make in thanks for Shinpachi, he would need it tonight. "Kondo-san, let's move out." Hijikata decided and began to move forward.

"But we still don't know if it's the Shikokuya or Ikedaya." Kondo protested and Hijikata paused in thought.

"They apparently used the Ikedaya quite often. It's hard to imagine they'd use the same place on the night that Furutaka is captured. Thus, it's probably safe to assume it's the Shikokuya." San'nan supplied and Kondo nodded in agreement with his logic.

"Still we cannot rule out the Ikedaya." Kondo argued and Hijikata nodded.

"Fine, we'll split into two teams. I'll go to the Shikokuya." He said.

"Then, Toshi, you take twenty-four men." Kondo decided and Nakoma's eyes widened a bit. _Did the man hit his head while he was getting ready?_ She wondered to herself as she stared at Kondo.

"Kondo-san," Hijikata began, his eyes wide. "You'll only take ten? That's reckless." He said with a shake of his head.

"In exchange, I'll take Souji, Nagakura, and Heisuke." Konda said stubbornly and Nakoma could see he wouldn't be changing his mind. Nakoma took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"I'll go with Kondo-san, if you'll allow me." She said carefully, he needed more men, the least she could do was offer her services. Hijikata opened his mouth to argue, but Okita cut him off before he could.

"She would be of help to us, I can vouch for her skills." He said, Hajime and Harada nodded in agreement.

"I can as well. She would give you an advantage, she has a fighting style the Choshu have not seen before, it would throw them off." Hajime said and Kondo nodded in thought for a moment.

"Very well, you are welcome to come." He said and gave her a bright smile. She nodded once and turned to get her weapons.

"Go get ready quickly, I'll give the rest of your things to Okita-san." Saito said to her and she nodded with a smile.

She took off and ran to her room. She almost slammed the sliding door open in haste as she quickly braided her hair again, the beads lightly tapping against her skin. She attached her macahuitl and her dagger to her waist, along with her war club, making sure to leave room for her tomahawk. She then knelt down in front of the table of her room and pulled out two jars. One held red paint and one held black. When she made these she wasn't sure why, they had no purpose except for, perhaps, comfort. But now she would use them.

She hadn't forgotten the warning the spirits gave. Perhaps they were trying to tell her that Kondo wasn't taking enough men? That the Choshu would be at Ikedaya? Either way she knew she had to go and help Kondo, Okita, Heisuke, and Shinpachi. She sighed as began to quickly cover the right side of her face with the red paint. She really did wish that she had finish the wooden pendant for Shinpachi. It could have brought him protection. _I suppose I'll just have to protect him myself._

"War," she said silently to herself as she quickly put two black stripes over the red paint, both from nose to ear.

"Strength," she nodded to herself when she was satisfied. She quickly made her way back to the entrance of the headquarters just as Kondo's group was leaving. She bumped her shoulder into Okita with a grin.

"I'm here," she told him, a little out of breath from running. She grinned as he turned to look at her, she could feel her adrenaline begin to pump and she began to grow excited. She had not been in a battle in so long. "My weapons please." Okita slowly gave her her tomahawk and then her bow and arrow.

"Hajime-san was not sure if you wanted the bow so he gave it to me." He said and she shrugged, the grin still on her face.

"Even if I don't use it, it won't get in my way." Shinpachi looked at her in surprise when he saw the grin on her face and the slight skip in her step. What was up with her?

"Why is your face half red?" Okita asked, still staring at her. He lifted his hand to touch her face but she whacked it away.

"Difference of culture." She said shortly with a laugh. "I will explain later or perhaps you'll understand by the end of the night." She walked a little faster to catch up to Shinpachi and Heisuke.

"You feelin' alright Nakoma?" Heisuke asked, neither him nor Shinpachi were quite sure what to make of her behavior.

"I feel great!" She said happily and glanced at him. "I have not been in a battle in quite some time. As a warrior…that's not the greatest feeling." She tried to explain her feelings and Heisuke grinned.

"Alright! Let's go kick some ass then!" He cried out enthusiastically and Nakoma laughed. Shinpachi couldn't quite feel the same though, he felt nervous about her coming. He had never seen her fight before, he trusted Okita, Saito, and Harada when they vouched for her, but for some reason he couldn't push the nerves away.

"But just, uh, stay near one of us, okay?" Shinpachi asked her nervously and scratched the back of his head. Nakoma gave him a warm smile.

"Of course." _I didn't plan on going anywhere else._

They all stood silently in a dark alley that was facing the Ikedaya Inn. Nakoma was slightly squished in between Heisuke and Shinpachi, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She was too anxious to begin fighting.

"Are you feeling alright Shinpachi?" Nakoma asked as she looked up at him, she noticed his face was awfully red. She had been pushed up against him for the past several minutes as they stood watching the Inn.

"Uh—yeah, I'm fine." He stuttered out and gave her an uneasy grin. He almost wanted to smack himself, this was about the worst time to have to deal with this. Heisuke began snicker and he sent him a dark glare since he couldn't reach over and punch him instead.

"So this ended up being the place." Okita murmured and Nakoma looked up to see a Choshu look around nervously before shutting a window.

"Any movement from the Aizu clan?" Kondo asked and a man from behind them spoke up.

"Not yet." Kondo sighed and shut his eyes for a moment.

"Dammit, what the hell is keeping them?!" Heisuke growled out in irritation and Nakoma had to agree, she wanted to fight, not stand here all night.

"What should we do?" Shinpachi asked, looking to Kondo.

"We can't let them escape." Okita said and Nakoma nodded in agreement, her hands tightening into fists.

"We don't have any other options; we'll go in on our own." Kondo said with a smirk.

"Yes!" Nakoma agreed and grinned darkly, she quickly pulled the bow off from her shoulders. They started making their way to the entrance of the building. "When the fighting begins, I'll cover you for as long as I can. It won't be long since it will be indoors, but it will be something." She said nodding to her bow. Kondo nodded in thanks as he kicked in the front door.

"We are the Shinsengumi, who serve under the Lord of the Aizu Clan!" Kondo cried out as Nakoma came up next to him. In a flash she pulled an arrow from her quiver and aimed it at the Choshu at the top of the steps.

It suddenly went dark and Nakoma sent a prayer that her aim would remain true. She had aimed in the dark before, it helped that all her comrades wore bright blue haoris as well. She heard the uneasy footsteps of their enemies from above. She already knew who she would kill first and where her arrow would land to do so, she smirked slightly, _I suppose I am a savage._

"By Imperial decree, everyone is hereby under arrest!" Kondo shouted and the Choshu pulled out their swords and laughed in response. "We will not hold back on those who resist!"

The enemies let out a war cry and ran at them at the same time that Kondo shouted out, "kill them!" As soon as she heard the command, she released her arrow. It whistled through the air and in seconds was in the eye of a Choshu, he landed on the floor with a thump. Some of his comrades paused at this.

"That was awesome!" Heisuke cheered as the other captains glanced at her in surprise. They all had their swords up in the ready position, ready for the Choshu to come flying at them. She ignored them and shot another Choshu down.

"Go!" She yelled at them. Kondo nodded and with another war cry he ran toward the Choshu. She released another arrow that flew over Kondo's shoulder and into the Choshu in front of him. She noticed Shinpachi hesitating and she shook her head. "Go, I'll be fine!" She called over the noise and he hesitated a second later before nodding.

She was able to shoot a few more men before she heard movement behind her. She quickly turned and removed the arrow from the string. She whacked one Choshu in face with her bow while she stabbed the other in the throat. He stood right in front of her and she smirked darkly at his look of surprise. She quickly pulled her arrow back out and he landed on the ground. She let out a harsh breath as she held the arrow down at her waist, the blood dripping off it and pattering to the ground. She quickly put her bow back on her shoulders and that's when she noticed a group of men glaring at her, their swords raised.

She grinned at them, a challenge for them to try to kill her. It was at that moment that Shinpachi looked up and saw her. He had to admit she did look quite frightening. In the low light of the inn, it looked like blood was dripping down half of her face as she grinned darkly at the men before her, her eyes lit up in excitement.


End file.
